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KOREA   FOR 


CHRIST 


BY 
GEORGE  T.  B.   DAVIS 


*     NOV  23  1910 


New  York 


Chicago  Toronto 


Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London        and        Edinburgh 


Copyright  1910 

By  Charles  M..  Alexander 

International  Copyright  Secured 


CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  PAGB. 

I.  A  Million  Souls  for  Christ 5 

II.  Providence  and  Prayer 12 

III.  Perilous  Days  in  Pyeng-Yang 20 

IV.  Little  Life  Stories 28 

V.  Kils  Quest  for  God 33 

VI.  A  Thousand  Bible  Conferences 39 

VII.  A  Nation  Transformed 44 

VIII.  The  Bible  in  Korea 51 

IX.  Whang,  the  Blind  Sorcerer 57 

X.  The  Revival  and  After 62 


CHAPTER  I. 
"A  Million  Souls  for  Christ." 

On  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia  lies  one  of  the  most  fas- 
cinating countries  of  the  Far  East.  To  the  north  is 
Manchuria ;  to  the  east  Japan ;  to  the  south  and  west 
the  vast  tracts  of  China.  In  the  centre  are  the  80,- 
000  square  miles  that  comprise  the  country  of  Korea. 
The  scenery  of  this  land  is  beautiful;  the  low 
houses  with  their  thatched  or  tiled  roofs  are  pictur- 
esque; the  people  intellectual;  and  the  manners 
and  customs  are  similar  in  many  respects  to  those 
of  Palestine  in  the  days  of  Christ.  The  history  of 
the  land  goes  back  beyond  the  time  of  King  David. 
In  1122  B.  C.  a  famous  Korean  monarch,  named 
Kicha,  reigned  in  Pyeng  Yang.  During  the  suc- 
ceeding thirty  centuries  the  nation  remained  in 
largely  the  same  condition  of  civilization;  self-sat- 
isfied, indolent,  isolated.  It  has  been  the  Hermit 
Land  of  the  East ;  proud  of  its  antiquity,  hiding  it- 
self from  the  rest  of  the  world  behind  impassable 
barriers. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  a  wonderful  change  oc- 
curred. God  seemed  to  call  this  mysterious  land 
into  the  forefront  of  the  world's  activity.  As  if 
moved  by  an  Invisible  Hand  the  doors  of  the  coun- 
try swung  open  ;  Christian  missionaries  entered  with 
the  Word  of  Life;  two  great  wars  and  a  great  re- 
vival changed  the  character  of  the  people  politically 
and  spiritually;  and  during  the  past  quarter  of  a 
century  there  has  taken  place  in  Korea  the  most 


6  KOREA   FOR   CHRIST 

sudden  turning  of  a  nation  to  God  that  has  been 
witnessed  in  the  world's  history. 

The  population  of  Korea  is  13  millions.  During 
the  twenty-five  years  of  labor  by  the  missionary 
force,  which  now  numbers  about  three  hundred, 
about  one  hundred  thousand  converts  have  been 
brought  out  of  the  darkness  of  heathenism ;  while 
the  total  number  of  adherents  of  the  Christian 
Church  reaches  200,000.  But  the  most  notable  fea- 
ture in  the  progress  of  the  Korean  Church  is  not 
the  multipHcity  of  converts;  but  the  supreme  faith 
and  apostolic  fervor  of  the  believers.  Their  zeal  in 
soul-winning  is  an  inspiration  to  the  entire  Christian 
world.  Their  trust  in  God  is  of  the  kind  that  moves 
mountains. 

The  missionaries  in  Korea  are  characterized  by 
the  same  holy  passion  for  souls  which  marks  the 
native  Christians.  The  culmination  of  their  faith 
and  ardor  occurred  in  October,  1909,  during  the 
meeting  of  the  General  Council  of  Evangelical  Mis- 
sions in  Seoul.  At  the  gathering  it  was  proposed 
that  the  watchword  of  the  General  Council  for  the 
coming  year  should  be  "A  Million  Souls  for  Christ." 
This  proposition  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the 
assembly.  By  dint  of  heroic  self-sacrifice  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  a  constituency  of  200,000  souls 
had  been  gathered  in.  But  here  was  a  challenge  to 
pray  and  work  for  a  million  believers  in  a  year. 
The  proposal,  however,  was  not  the  impulse  of  a 
moment.  It  was  the  natural  sequence  of  a  series 
of  providential  events  in  Korean  mission  history, 
and  the  culmination  of  months  of  earnest  prayer  on 
the  part  of  consecrated  missionaries. 

It  was  during  the  year  1903  to  1907  that  Korea 
was  visited  with  a  gracious  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  consequent  revival  which  thrilled  the 
Christian  world. 

A  year  or  two  later  a  little  group  of  missionaries 
in  Song-Do  became  deeply  concerned  about  their 
lack  of  power  in  prayer  and  service.  They  also 
felt  that   the  enthusiasm   of  the   Church   in   their 


"A  MILLION  SOULS  FOR  JESUS"  7 

community  was  waning.  They  decided  to  spend  an 
entire  week  in  Bible  study  and  prayer.  On  the 
fourth  day  the  meeting  was  continued  until  mid- 
night. Three  missionaries,  Dr.  W.  T.  Reid,  Rev. 
M.  B.  Stokes  and  Rev.  F.  K.  Gamble  decided  to 
spend  the  night  in  prayer.  At  4  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing God's  Spirit  came  upon  them  in  great  power. 
Soon  afterwards  they  met  together  for  a  day  of 
prayer.  In  the  afternoon,  as  they  prayed,  God's 
presence  seemed  suddenly  to  fill  the  room.  They 
arose  with  hearts  full  of  joy  and  praise,  confident 
that  God  would  shortly  manifest  His  power  in  a 
wonderful  manner  in  Korea. 

The  three  young  missionaries  were  now  seized 
with  a  passion  for  prayer.  A  short  time  later  they 
spent  a  week  on  the  mountain  side  with  a  number  of 
Koreans  pleading  day  and  night  for  a  mighty  out- 
pouring of  God's  Spirit.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
prayer  Conference  Mr.  Stokes  went  on  an  itinerating 
tour  with  his  heart  on  fire  for  souls.  In  two  of  his 
circuits  he  asked  whether  the  Koreans  would  not 
work  and  pray  for  50,000  souls  in  the  district  during 
the  coming  year.  They  responded  so  eagerly,  and 
set  to  work  so  heartily  that  at  the  annual  Confer- 
ence of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  a  few  weeks 
later  a  watchword  of  ''Two  Hundred  Thousand 
Souls  for  Christ"  was  adopted. 

About  this  time  there  was  born  in  the  heart  of 
Dr.  Reid  a  great  desire  that  the  whole  missionary 
body  might  unite  in  a  common  watchword  for  the 
ensuing  year,  which  would  act  as  a  stimulus  for  the 
Korean  Church.  At  a  meeting  of  the  General  Coun- 
cil on  the  9th  day  of  October  Dr.  Reid  arose  and 
moved  the  adoption  of  a  common  watchword  for 
the  entire  missionary  body.  He  was  appointed 
chairman  of  a  Committee,  and  this  Committee,  after 
careful  deliberation  and  earnest  prayer,  brought  in 
a  unanimous  report  for  the  adoption  of  the  watch- 
word for  the  year — "A  Million  Souls  for  Christ." 

It  was  within  three  hours  after  the  adoption  of 
this  watchword  that  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  and 
Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander  and  their  party  arrived  in 


8  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST 

Seoul  in  the  course  of  their  missionary  tour  through 
the  Orient.  The  well-known  evangelists  had  left 
America  in  the  Spring  of  1909;  held  meetings  in 
Hawaii  and  Fiji  Islands;  and  conducted  Missions 
for  four  months  in  Australia.  Then  they  journeyed 
northwards,  held  services  in  the  Philippine  Islands, 
and  Conferences  and  Brief  Missions  in  a  number 
of  Chinese  cities.  The  mission  party  which  accom- 
panied them  through  Korea  consisted  of  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander and  her  sister,  Miss  Cadbury;  Dr.  Chapman's 
eight-year-old  boy,  Hamilton;  Dr.  Ford  C.  Ottman, 
Mr.  Robert  Harkness,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  C.  Norton, 
and  the  writer  and  his  mother,  Mrs.  E.  A.  R.  Davis. 

For  five  days  Dr.  Chapman  and  Mr.  Alexander 
conducted  meetings  for  missionaries  and  Koreans, 
which  were  a  source  of  untold  blessing  to  all.  The 
atmosphere  of  Heaven  was  in  the  services,  scores  of 
Koreans  confessed  Christ,  and  the  missionaries  re- 
ceived fresh  inspiration  for  their  work,  and  for  the 
new  project. 

Mr.  Harkness,  the  pianist  and  composer  of  the 
Chapman-Alexander  party,  caught  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  missionaries  for  the  Million  Campaign  so 
fully,  that  he  wrote  the  words  and  music  of  a  spe- 
cial hymn  entitled  "A  Million  Souls  for  Jesus."  It 
was  at  once  translated  into  Korean,  and  is  being 
sung  in  Churches  and  homes  throughout  the  coun- 
try. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Chapman-Alexander 
meetings  in  Seoul  the  writer  was  requested  by  the 
Committee  of  the  Bible  Societies  to  remain  for  a 
time  in  Korea  to  assist  in  the  Forward  Movement. 
A  few  weeks  lated  it  was  his  privilege  to  return  from 
Japan,  accompanied  by  his  mother,  and  to  spend 
three  months  itinerating  throughout  the  country,  vis- 
iting many  of  the  Mission  stations.  He  saw  the 
Missionaries  and  the  Korean  Church  bending  their 
energies  to  the  herculean  task  of  winning  a  million 
heathen  to  Christ  with  an  enthusiasm  he  has  never 
seen  equalled. 

The  chief  methods  adopted  for  the  accomplish- 


Missionary  Conftreiicc  in  Seoul  during  the  Chaijnum-Alexander  visit. 


Christian  Students  in  Pyeng  Yang  who  gave  a  whole  week  to  Bible 
study  and  personal  effort  in  soul-winning. 


A    MILLION    SOULS    FOR   JESUS. 

"Jesus  said  unto  him,  if  thou  can'st  believe,  all 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth." — Mark 
IX.  2Z. 

A  million  souls  for  Jesus! 
Lord,  this  can  surely  be! 
A  million  souls  for  Jesus! 
'Tis  not  too  much  for  thee! 
Is  not  thy  Word  all  powerful 
To  touch  the  sinful  heart? 
Is  not  the  Spirit  willing 
Thy  Word  of  Life  to  impart? 

A  million  souls  for  Jesus 
In  this  dark  land  of  sin! 
A  million  souls  for  Jesus! 
Lord,  now  the  work  begin! 
Make  us  thy  servants  willing 
Thy  blessed  will  to  do; 
Give  us  thy  Holy  Spirit 
Fill  us  with  power  anew. 

A  million  souls  for  Jesus? 
Sound  out  the  watchword  true! 
A  million   souls  for  Jesus 
The  work  of  God  to  do. 
Korea's  cry  is  mighty, 
But  God  is  mightier  far; 
No  band  of  evil  forces 
His  purposes  can  mar. 

Refrain: — A  million  souls  for  Jesus! 

Lord,  grant  our  hearts'  desire! 
A  million  souls  for  Jesus! 
Lord,  spread  the  Gospel  fire. 

Copyright  1910,  by  Charles  M.  Alexander. 
International  Copyright. 


lO  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST 

ment  of  the  great  project  were  Prayer,  God's  Word, 
and  Personal  Work.  The  first  step  in  the  campaign 
was  a  call  for  two  weeks  of  prayer.  This  was  sent 
out  from  Seoul  to  the  various  Mission  stations,  and 
Koreans  and  missionaries  united  day  and  night  in 
prayer  for  a  mighty  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit.  To- 
day Korea  is  honeycombed  with  prayer  circles,  and 
noon-day  prayer  meetings  are  being  held  daily  in 
many  of  the  Mission  stations.  The  Korean  Chris- 
tians pray  with  a  fervor  and  faith  that  puts  believers 
in  Western  lands  to  shame.  They  think  little  of 
spending  all  day  or  all  night  in  prayer.  Sometimes 
they  will  kneel  for  hours  on  the  frozen  ground  on 
the  mountain  side  agonizing  with  God  for  the  out- 
pouring of  His  Spirit,  and  for  the  salvation  of  the 
lost. 

The  second  great  agency  in  the  crusade  for  souls 
is  the  Word  of  God.  The  entire  Korean  Church  is 
being  urged  to  carry  God's  word  with  them  wher- 
ever they  go,  to  read  it  daily,  and  to  give  portions  of 
it  to  the  unsaved  in  order  to  win  them  to  Christ.  A 
special  edition  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel  has  been  issued, 
and  is  being  sold  to  the  Korean  Christians  for  careful 
distribution.  The  Koreans  are  perhaps  the  most 
poverty-stricken  people  in  the  East,  yet  in  a  compar- 
atively short  period  they  have  purchased  more  than 
half  a  million  of  these  Gospels  to  use  in  soul-winning 
work. 

Consistent  personal  effort  day  after  day  for  the 
salvation  of  the  lost  is  the  third  great  method  for  the 
realization  of  the  object  in  view.  The  Korean  Chris- 
tian possesses  a  passion  for  soul-winning  not  found 
in  Western  lands.  It  is  a  kind  of  unwritten  rule  in 
many  Korean  Churches  not  to  admit  a  believer  into 
full  membership  until  he  has  led  at  least  one  soul  to 
Christ.  The  most  strinking  method  of  personal 
work  in  Korea  is  the  custom  of  setting  apart  whole 
days  and  weeks  of  time  to  be  devoted  exclusively  to 
personal  dealing  with  the  unsaved. 

At  Ichun,  the  first  village  I  visited  after  returning 
to  Korea,  the  Southern  Methodists  were  holding  a 
Conference  with  their  Korean  helpers.    An  appeal 


"A  MILLON  SOULS  FOR  CHRIST"  n 

was  made  to  the  people  for  days  of  service  during 
the  next  three  months  and  a  rem.arkable  scene  fol- 
lowed. Men  and  women  arose  in  all  parts  of  the 
building,  and  made  their  offerings.  A  merchant 
said,  *1  am  going  to  do  this  work  continually,  but  I 
will  devote  my  entire  time  it  one  week  each  month." 
A  boatman  stated  that  he  would  give  sixcy  days  to 
the  Lord  during  the  three  months.  Another  de- 
clared he  would  give  every  day  except  Sunday,  when 
he  wanted  to  attend  Church  himself!  A  travelling 
merchant  said  he  was  going  to  preach  all  along  the 
road,  but  he  would  contribute  six  entire  days.  A 
blind  man  said  he  would  give  the  ninety  days  to 
work.  One  of  the  women  delegates  said  she  could 
only  contribute  six  days,  but  she  was  going  to  preach 
to  every  one  she  met.  The  total  number  of  days  of 
service  promised  was  2,721,  or  the  equivalent  of  one 
man  preaching  Christ  constantly  for  close  upon 
seven  and  a  half  years. 

The  eflfort  to  win  a  million  souls  to  Christ  in  a 
year  has  already  resulted  in  a  marvellous  quicken- 
ing of  the  Church,  in  a  great  in-gathering  of  souls, 
in  an  unprecedented  dissemination  of  God's  Word, 
and  in  a  great  volume  of  prayer  for  the  salvation  of 
the  lost.  Will  not  every  reader  unite  with  the  Mis- 
sionaries and  Koreans  in  pleading  for  such  an  out- 
pouring of  God's  Spirit  upon  the  nation,  that  a  mil- 
lion of  the  people  may  become  believers  within  one 
year?  While  the  full  number  may  not  be  known 
by  name,  nor  counted  in  the  Churches  in  the  as- 
signed line,  yet  such  has  been  the  unparalleled-prog- 
ress of  the  Gospel  in  Korea  in  the  past,  and  such  is 
the  power  of  Almighty  God  that  more  than  a  million 
believers  may  well  be  realized  in  the  one-time  Her- 
mit Land  ere  the  year  is  ended. 


^^ 


CHAPTER  II. 

Providence  and  Prayer. 

A  Talk  with  Dr.  Horace  G.  Underwood. 

From  the  beginning  of  Mission  Work  in  Korea 
God's  hand  has  been  revealed  in  a  chain  of  special 
Providences,  and  in  a  series  of  remarkable  answers 
to  prayers.  In  the  early  part  of  my  stay  in  Korea 
it  was  my  privilege  to  spend  a  week  in  a  large  Bible 
Class  at  Chai-Ryung,  a  station  fifteen  miles  distant 
from  the  railway.  The  chief  speaker  at  this  class 
was  Dr.  Horace  G.  Underwood,  of  Seoul. 

No  man  is  better  fitted  than  Dr.  Underwood,  both 
by  years  of  service  and  by  varied  experiences  to  tell 
of  the  wonderful  progress  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  Korea.  He  is  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Korean  Church,  having  taken  up  his  residence  in 
Seoul  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  While  Dr. 
Underwood  is  intensely  evangelistic  in  his  spirit,  his 
work  has  not  been  confined  to  this  sphere.  He  is 
the  author  of  a  number  of  books  on  Korea,  among 
which  are  a  Korean-English  Dictionary  and  "The 
Call  of  Korea."  He  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Educational  work  in  the  Korean  capital, 
and  is  a  prominent  force  in  the  Bible  and  Tract  So- 
ciety's work  in  the  country,  and  is  one  of  the  chief 
translators  of  the  Bible  into  the  Korean  language. 
He  was  the  confidential  friend  and  adviser  of  the  late 
King  of  Korea,  while  his  wife  stfore  her  marriage, 
went  to  Korea  to  bec<^me  physician  to  Her  Majesty 
the  Queen.  When  the  !ife  of  the  late  King  was  in 
danger  all  his  food  for  weeks  was  cooked  in  Dr. 


I  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Horace  G.  Underwood  bidding  goodbye  lo  their  guests, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  M.  Alexander. 
Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  and  Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander  in  the  Far 
East. 


\ 


PROVIDENCEAND    PRAYER  1 3 

Underwood's  kitchen,  and  was  sent  in  sealed  dishes 
to  the  palace. 

Mrs.  Underwood  is  also  an  author,  and  her  book, 
''Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Top-knots,"  gives  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  people  and  customs  of  Korea. 

As  we  journeyed  toward  Seoul  in  the  little  com- 
partment of  the  Japanese  train,  amidst  scenery 
scarcely  surpassed  in  the  Orient,  Dr.  Underwood  de- 
clared that  the  successes  which  have  attended  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  Korea  have  been  a  source 
of  as  much  wonder  and  amazement  to  the  mission- 
aries on  the  field  as  to  outsiders.  ''Korea,"  said  he, 
"has  been  looked  upon  as  an  unusually  hard  field  be- 
cause of  the  persistency  with  which  she  had  refused 
the  admission  of  the  foreigner.  Every  attempt  to 
enter  both  by  friendly  means  and  even  by  force  of 
arms  had  failed,  and  it  was  not  until  1882  when 
Admiral  Schufelt  negotiated  the  treaty  between 
America  and  Korea,  that  her  doors  were  opened 
to  the  foreigner.  Even  then  it  was  deemed  that 
the  Spirit  that  had  kept  the  doors  closed  so  long 
must  still  to  no  small  degree  affect  the  minds  of  the 
people,  and  would  probably  prove  a  formidable  bar- 
rier to  the  entrance  of  the  Gospel. 

"It  was  therefore  with  no  small  joy  that  mission- 
aries early  found  that  He  who  had  been  before  us 
breaking  down  the  political  barriers,  had  also  in  a 
marvelous  way  so  touched  the  hearts  of  the  people 
that  there  was  little  hostility  to  us  as  foreigners,  but 
a  willingness  to  listen  to  our  message.  And  yet  the 
subsequent  successes  that  in  later  years  have  fol- 
lowed the  efforts  of  the  missionaries  have  far  ex- 
ceeded their  brightest  anticipation.  As  we  endeavor 
to  analyze  the  causes  we  are  compelled  to  stand 
back  in  awe,  and  to  aver  that  the  wonderful  progress 
can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  power  of  an  Al- 
mighty God. 

"Twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  not  a  Christian 
in  the  land.  To-day  there  are  about  80,000  baptized 
members  and  Catechumens,  with  a  total  of  about 

♦This  -was  in  October,  1909,  at  the  beginning  of  tlie 
"Million"  movement. 


l4  KOREA   FOK   CHRIST 

200,000  adherents,  distributed  among  1500  Churches. 
This  is  a  record  that  stands  alone.  Students  of  his- 
tory have  come  to  Korea  to  ascertain  the  cause. 
While  the  later  political  events  have  given  some 
color  to  the  avowal  that  the  movement  is  in  part  po- 
litical, yet  a  careful  abstinence  of  the  Church  from 
all  politics,  added  to  the  fact  known  to  every  mis- 
sionary that  thus  far  the  greatest  work  was  accom- 
plished before  the  advent  of  the  present  political 
status,  proves  most  plainly  that  political  events  have 
not  been  the  cause  of  the  unparalleled  progress. 

"The  adoption  of  the  principles  of  self-support, 
such  as  have  been  found  so  successful  in  certain 
parts  of  India,  Turkey  and  China,  while  they  have 
doubtless  accelerated  the  work  here,  can  in  no  way 
be  said  to  adequately  account  for  it.  There  are  also 
traits  of  the  Korean  character  that  may  be  averred 
to  have  had  no  little  to  do  with  the  success,  but 
these  likewise  are  altogether  insufficient  to  account 
for  the  great  work  of  grace.  We  are,  therefore, 
simply  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  God  is  once 
again  manifesting  His  power,  and  using  insignificant 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty.  He 
has  been  taking  poor,  despised  Korea,  and  work- 
ing wonders  here  that  are  astounding  the  world. 
He  has  been  raising  up  for  Himself  from  among 
these  despised  Koreans  a  body  of  men  and  women 
who  have  developed  into  one  of  the  finest  types 
of  Christianity  in  modern  times. 

From  the  very  beginning  we  have  had  proof  after 
proof  of  Divine  interposition.  The  preparation  of  Dr. 
H.  N.  Allen,  his  being  held  in  China  for  a  year — a  thing 
absolutely  impossible  for  any  one  to  understand  at  the 
time — and  his  reaching  Korea  just  in  time  for  his 
services  to  be  used  in  saving  the  life  of  Prince  Min- 
Yongik,  opened  the  door  of  welcome  for  all  mission- 
aries. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  watch-night  service  held 
in  Korea  on  the  last  day  of  December,  1885,^  there 
were  less  than  ten  missionaries  in  the  country,  includ- 
ing the  women  and  children.  The  first  prayer  offered 
at  that  service  was  for  souls  for  Christ  during  the 


PROVIDENCE  AND  PRAYER.  1 5 

coming  year.  It  seemed  impossible  that  such  a  request 
could  be  granted  in  Korea,  the  "Hermit-Land,"  the 
last  of  the  nations  to  open  its  doors  to  the  Gospel.  In 
Japan  they  had  to  wait  six  years  before  they  baptized 
their  first  convert,  and  twelve  years  before  they  had 
six  members  with  which  to  organize  their  first  church ; 
while  in  China  they  had  to  wait  nearly  a  score  of 
years  for  their  first  convert. 

"At  that  first  watch-night  service  weak  indeed  was 
our  faith,  but  we  pleaded  with  God  to  strengthen  it. 
We  baptized  two  converts  that  year.  At  the  next 
watch-night  service  we  were  led  to  ask  for  a  score  of 
souls,  and  before  the  end  of  1887  there  were  twenty- 
three  baptized  behevers.  With  strengthened  faith  the 
next  year  we  pleaded  with  God  for  a  hundred,  and 
before  the  end  of  the  year  there  were  125  professing 
Christians.  And  now  with  the  number  of  missionaries 
in  Korea,  with  the  strong  Church,  with  the  organized 
body  of  personal  workers,  I  believe  there  will  be  more 
than  a  million  believers  before  the  end  of  the  year. 
China,  Japan  and  Russia  have  all  acknowledged  that 
Korea  is  the  strategic  point  of  the  Far  East.  We  can 
well  believe  that  it  is  also  the  strategic  point  religiously ; 
and  to  win  Korea  now  means  to  win  the  Far  East." 

As  Dr.  Underwood  concluded  his  narrative  of  God's 
Providences  in  the  mission  history  of  Korea,  we  were 
still  several  hours  distant  from  our  destination.  The 
slowness  of  the  Japanese  train,  however,  gave  a  much- 
desired  opportunity  of  hearing  about  some  of  the 
remarkable  answers  to  prayer  which  my  fellow-traveler 
had  witnessed  during  his  long  residence  in  the  country. 
Dr.  Underwood  continued: 

"The  Koreans  themselves  believe  most  firmly  that 
success  has  come  as  a  direct  answer  to  prayer.  The 
Koreans  really  put  Western  Christians  and  missionaries 
to  shame  by  their  simple,  childlike  faith  in  God.  He  is 
to  them  their  Heavenly  Father,  or  more  commonly 
simply  Father,  and  they  believe  most  firmly  that  He  is 
Omnipotent,  that  He  can  do  all  things  they  ask,  and 
that  He  will  do  all  that  is  good  for  them. 

"Here  is  one  among  many  remarkable  incidents  of 
this  simplicity  of  faith.     In  a  section  of  Korea  where 


l6  KOREA    FOR   CHRIST. 

no  missionaries  had  yet  gone  some  Gospels  had  been 
received  and  a  Church  had  sprung  up.  When  the 
missionary  paid  his  first  visit  to  the  district  there  were 
a  large  number  who  applied  for  admission  to  the 
Church.  Many  of  these  had  been  believers  for  two 
or  three  years.  The  only  thing  to  do  was  to  examine 
the  applicants  to  find  out  their  spiritual  condition. 
Among  the  believers  was  one  old  man  who  answered 
everything  satisfactorily.  At  length  he  was  asked 
whether  he  had  faith  in  prayer.  *I  can't  help  but  have 
faith,'  said  he,  'when  I  think  of  how  prayer  was 
answered  for  me.' 

"A  little  questioning  brought  out  the  whole  story, 
which  I  afterwards  found  was  known  far  and  wide. 
The  gentleman  in  question,  old  Mr.  Yi,  had  his  home 
in  a  valley  that  was  frequently  flooded.  The  summer 
after  he  and  his  family  had  accepted  Christ,  at  the  time 
of  the  rainy  season,  the  water  rose  so  rapidly,  and  was 
so  turbulent,  that  it  was  apparent  to  all  that  the  village 
was  doomed.  Nearly  all  the  other  villagers  made  quick 
preparations  to  save  what  they  could  and  escape  to  the 
hills.  They  came  and  urged  Mr.  Yi  and  his  family  to 
go  with  them.  Mr.  Yi  said  that  his  all  was  in  the 
house,  and  if  that  was  gone  they  would  have  nothing 
left.  He  told  those  who  urged  him  to  flee  that  he  had 
nothing  to  fear ;  that  God  v/as  his  Father,  and  Heaven 
his  home;  that  God  could  protect  him  in  his  house; 
while  if  He  desired  He  could  take  them  all  to  Heaven, 
and  they  were  ready  to  go. 

"Mr.  Yi  gathered  together  his  wife  and  a  young 
son,  both  earnest  believers,  and  laid  the  whole  matter 
before  'Father.*  In  his  prayer  he  said  they  were  ready 
for  Heaven,  or  if  'Father'  wanted  to  keep  them  here 
He  could  take  care  of  them.  He  said  his  all  was  in 
his  house,  and  if  his  all  was  to  be  washed  away  he  was 
ready  to  leave  this  world. 

"  'And  what  do  you  suppose  Father  did,'  he  said, 
as  he  concluded  his  narrative,  'why  He  rooted  up  a 
great  big  willow  tree  along  the  stream,  brought  it 
down,  and  lodged  it  right  back  of  my  house,  so  mine 
was  the  only  house  in  the  village  that  was  saved.    And 


providence;  and  prayer.  17 

how  could  I  help  believing  in  prayer  after  such  an 
answer  as  that?" 

''Prayer  for  healing  is  common  throughout  the  whole 
Church.  Whether  the  Korean  has  solved  the  question 
of  *Faith  Cures'  I  do  not  attempt  to  say,  but  it  is 
interesting  to  note  his  point  of  view.  He  believes  that 
if  he  has  a  bottle  of  quinine  in  the  house,  and  he  or 
a  member  of  his  family  has  an  attack  of  malaria,  he 
ought  to  use  the  quinine  asking  God's  blessing  upon  it. 
But  he  goes  further  than  this.  He  believes  it  is  just 
as  easy  for  his  Almighty  Father  to  cure  without  the 
quinine  as  with  it,  and  if  he  has  no  quinine  in  the  house 
he  will  simply  lay  the  matter  before  'Father.' 

"The  way  in  which  God  honors  their  faith  and 
manifests  His  approval  of  their  simple  trust  in  Him 
as  'Father,'  would  make  us  say  that  the  day  of  miracles 
is  not  past.  A  lady  missionary  down  in  the  far  interior 
was  attacked  with  pneumonia.  Barely  had  she  recov- 
ered from  this,  when  from  a  second  exposure  pleurisy 
set  in.  Her  life  was  despaired  of.  Consultation  was 
held  among  the  Koreans  as  to  what  should  be  done; 
and  after  waiting  upon  God  in  prayer  they  decided  to 
use  all  the  means  that  God  had  placed  in  their  hands. 
They  sent  a  special  courier  to  the  nearest  station  to 
telegraph  for  a  foreign  physician,  but  it  would  be  at 
least  seven  or  eight  days  before  he  could  arrive. 

"The  whole  Church  decided  also  to  wait  continu- 
ously upon  God  in  prayer  for  her  recovery.  Following 
the  instructions  in  the  book  of  James,  the  Elder  came 
in  and  anointed  her  with  oil,  and  prayed  for  her.  That 
same  night  after  the  Church  prayer-meeting  was  over 
a  godly  widow  who  resided  with  her  children  near  the 
Church  decided  to  spend  the  whole  night  wrestling  with 
God  in  prayer  for  the  recovery  of  the  lady  missionary. 
When  she  announced  this  fact  to  her  children,  and  told 
them  to  retire,  her  youngest,  a  little  girl  less  than  nine 
years  of  age,  said  that  she  too  wished  to  spend  the 
night  in  prayer  with  her  mother.  They  went  to  a  little 
empty  house,  and  spent  the  entire  night  praying  in 
turn,  first  the  mother  and  then  the  little  girl.  It  was 
almost  davbreak.  The  mother  had  just  finished  her 
prayer.     Suddenly  she  felt  her  whole  soul  filled  with 


1 8  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

thankfulness,  so  that  she  could  no  longer  continue 
asking  for  a  cure,  but  was  compelled  to  thank  God  for 
having  heard  and  answered  her  petition.  The  next 
prayer  of  her  little  daughter  also,  although  her  mother 
had  said  nothing  to  her,  was  'I  thank  thee.  Father, 
for  having  heard  and  answered,  and  for  curing  the 
missionary  lady/ 

"The  next  morning  a  note  was  received  from  the 
widow  saying,  'Have  no  fear  for  the  lady  missionary. 
'Father'  gave  me  the  answer  last  night,  and  she  will 
get  well.  Is  it  needful  to  add  that  before  the  doctor 
arrived  she  was  restored  to  health  ?" 

I  may  add  that  the  lady  who  was  cured  has  been  and 
is  still  doing  a  glorious  work  for  God  in  Korea,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  consecrated  women  it  was  my  privilege 
to  meet  during  my  stay  in  that  country. 

*'One  might  go  on  telling  of  striking  answers  to 
prayer  almost  without  stopping,"  continued  Dr.  Under- 
wood. "Let  me  give  you  one  more  instance,  however, 
regarding  this  same  widow.  She  had  sent  her  son 
to  Seoul  for  an  education,  and  had  placed  him  under 
my  care.  When  I  was  in  her  village,  200  miles  from 
the  capital,  I  had  to  tell  her  that  her  son  was  not  study- 
ing as  he  should ;  that  he  was  not  as  zealous  in  Chris- 
tian work,  or  as  constant  in  attendance  at  the  services 
of  the  church  as  formerly.  I  had  expected  there 
would  be  quite  a  show  of  worry  and  fear,  and  that 
she  would  at  once  commence  to  ask  me  what  ought 
to  be  done.  I  was  much  surprised  when  she  did  not 
consult  with  me  in  any  way  whatsoever. 

"Later  I  learned  the  cause  for  this  apparent  lack  of 
interest.  She  had  the  privilege  of  directly  consulting 
her  Heavenly  Father,  and  had  determined  to  lay  the 
matter  before  Him.  She  had  read  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
going  to  the  mountain  to  pray,  and  how  at  times  He 
would  spend  the  whole  night  there.  She  made  up  her 
mind  that  she  would  go  to  the  mountain  and  spend  the 
night  agonizing  with  God  for  the  soul  of  her  first-born. 
But,  as  she  told  me  afterwards,  no  sooner  had  she  de- 
cided upon  this  course  than  she  began  to  be  afraid.  A 
Korean  woman  is  timid,  and  if  a  rabbit  should  pass  her 
at  night  on  the  mountain  side  she  would  start  and 


PROVIDENCE  AND  PRAYER.  IQ 

tremble.     Besides  on  these  mountains  there  were  wild 
deer  and  boars,  and  sometimes  tigers  and  leopards. 

"Her  first  thought  was  that  she  would  ask  her 
daughter-in-law  to  go  with  her.  Then  she  reasoned 
with  herself  that  it  was  rather  strange  to  hesitate  to 
trust  the  Almighty  Father,  and  to  ask  her  poor  weak 
daughter-in-law  to  go  along  to  protect  her.  At  length 
her  longing  for  her  son  overcame  all  her  fears,  and  she 
went  alone  to  the  mountain  and  spent  the  whole  night 
praying  for  her  boy.  The  next  morning  she  came 
down  the  mountain  side  singing  songs  of  rejoicing  all 
the  way,  and  she  wrote  me  a  letter  to  Seoul  saying: 
'Dear  Pastor,  I  was  up  in  the  mountain  last  night 
talking  with  Father  about  my  boy.  Father  gave  me  the 
answer,  and  I  know  the  lad  is  all  right.'  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  add  that  he  was  all  right,  and  is  to-day 
one  of  the  most  zealous  Christians  in  the  church. 

"With  such  faith  as  this  you  can  readily  see  how 
deeply  the  Korean  Christians  believe  in  prayer.  I 
suppose  the  largest  Presbyterian  mid-week  prayer 
meeting  in  the  world  is  that  held  every  Wednesday 
night  in  Pyeng  Yang.  There  is  an  average  attendance 
of  one  thousand  members,  and  sometimes  when  the 
night  is  fine  they  are  compelled  to  hold  overflow  meet- 
ings in  the  cottages  around.  It  is  not  a  lecture  service, 
where  one  man  does  most  of  the  talking ;  but  a  prayer 
meeting,  where  all  united  pour  out  their  hearts  to  God. 

Some  of  the  Churches  in  Korea  do  not  know  any 
better  than  to  hold  daily  prayer-meetings.  I  could 
take  you  to  one  Church,  and  I  suppose  there  are  many 
others  like  it,  that  has  never  missed  a  single  night  since 
the  organization  of  the  Church  without  holding  a 
prayer  meeting.  It  is  little  wonder  that  in  this  village 
there  is  not  a  single  heathen  house,  or  a  non-believing 
individual  left. 

"It  is  such  people  as  this,  and  such  Churches  as 
these,  that  are  to-day  unitedly  working  and  praying 
for  a  million  souls  for  Christ.  Will  not  all  the  world 
unite  with  them  in  prayer  that  this  aim  may  be  more 
than  realized?" 


CHAPTER  III. 

PeriIvOus  Days  in  Pyeng  Yang. 

A  Talk  with  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Moei^ett. 

In  the  city  of  Pyeng  Yang  one  is  impressed,  as 
perhaps  nowhere  else  in  the  East,  with  the  victory  of 
the  Cross  of  Christ  in  the  Orient.  As  I  sat  one  night 
upon  the  platform  of  Central  Church  and  gazed  into 
the  rapt  upturned  faces  of  nearly  2000  Korean  men 
packed  into  the  building,  as  I  heard  them  sing  with  a 
lusty  vigor  that  one  seldom  hears  even  in  Christian 
lands,  and  as  they  listened  with  reverent  attention  to 
the  story  of  the  Gospel,  I  realized  as  never  before  the 
miracle  of  Missions  in  Korea. 

The  work  in  Pyeng  Yang  is  in  many  respects  the 
most  remarkable  in  the  country.  It  was  here  that  the 
great  revival  of  1903-7  had  its  best  results.  Eighteen 
years  ago  the  first  missionaries  entered  the  city ;  to-day 
there  are  over  8000  believers  in  a  population  of  40,000 
Koreans.  The  pioneer  missionary  to  Pyeng  Yang, 
who  has  since  been  mightily  used  of  God  in  spreading 
the  Gospel  throughout  Northern  Korea,  is  Dr.  Samuel 
A.  Moffett.  His  work  has  been  both  evangelistic  and 
educational.  He  has  been  the  chief  exponent  of  the 
system  of  Bible  Training  Classes,  which  is  one  of 
the  open  secrets  of  the  progress  of  Missions  in  Korea. 
Dr.  Moffett  is  ably  assisted  in  all  his  work  by  his 
wife,  who  conducts  for  several  months  each  year  a 
school  for  the  blind,  and  who  is  constantly  engaged 
in  evangelistic  and  educational  work  among  women. 


Central  Church  in  Pyeng  Yang,  from  which  thirty-nine  other  Churches 

have  sprung  in  fifteen  years. 

J)r.  S.  A.  Moffett  and  Rev.  Graham   Lee  with   Pastor   Kil  and   other 

Christian  leaders  in  Pyeng  Yang. 


PERILOUS  DAYS  IN  PYKNG  YANG.        21 

There  are  two  missionary  bodies  at  work  in  Pyeng 
Yang,  the  Presbyterians  and  Methodists  (North)  of 
the  United  States.  Dr.  Hall,  one  of  the  pioneer  Meth- 
odist Missionaries  in  Pyeng  Yang,  passed  away  soon 
after  the  inauguration  of  the  work,  but  his  wife  and 
others  have  since  carried  on  the  work  he  so  heroically 
began.  Rev.  W.  A.  Noble  is  to-day  the  presiding  elder 
of'the  Methodist  Mission  in  Pyeng  Yang  and  district. 
He  is  a  man  of  strong  executive  ability  and  is  an  author 
as  well  as  a  missionary,  having  written  a  beautiful  story 
entitled  "Ewa :  A  Tale  of  Korea,"  also  a  stirring  de- 
scription of  the  revival  in  Pyeng  Yang  and  district. 

One  day  while  sitting  in  the  sarang  of  Dr.  Moifett's 
home,  it  was  my  privilege  to  hear  from  his  lips  the  stir- 
ring narrative  of  the  early  days  in  Pyeng  Yang.  He 
first  told  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  securing  a 
foothold  in  the  city: 

'Tyeng  Yang  was  supposed  to  be  the  most  wicked 
city  in  Korea.  It  is  also  the  oldest  city,  and  was  for- 
merly the  capital  of  the  country,  being  founded  by 
Kicha  about  1122  B.  C.  The  site  of  the  old  palace  can 
still  be  seen.  Until  recently  the  streets  were  in  rec- 
tangular form,  as  they  were  laid  out  three  thousand 
years  ago. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  work  here  the  attitude  of 
the  people  towards  the  foreigner  was  one  of  suspicion 
and  opposition.  In  the  years  1890  and  1891,  when  I 
passed  along  the  streets  the  common  remark  I  over- 
heard was: "'Look  at  this  black  rascal!  Why  did  he 
come  here?  Let  us  kill  him.'  Two  incidents  that 
occurred  during  my  first  and  second  visits  revealed  the 
wickedness  of  the  city.  One  day  I  saw  some  boys  in 
their  play  dragging  through  the  main  streets  an  old 
man  who  had  died  during  the  night.  People  were 
laughing  at  them  as  they  dragged  the  corpse  along. 
On  another  occasion  a  murderer  in  prison  was  de- 
manded by  the  relatives  of  the  murdered  man.  He 
was  given  up  to  the  mob.  They  led  him  to  a  little 
knoll  not  far  from  the  centre  of  the  city,  and  hacked 
him  to  pieces  with  knives.  These,  of  course,^  were  ex- 
ceptional instancves,  but  they  were  an  indication  of  the 
public  sentiment  which  prevailed. 


22  KOREA   FOR   CHRIST. 

"Our  first  headquarters  after  reaching  Korea  were 
at  Seoul  Repeated  visits  were,  however,  paid  to  Pyeng 
Yang.  In  one  of  these  I  was  accompanied  by  the  Rev. 
Graham  Lee,  who  had  joined  the  Mission  and  with 
whom  from  that  time  on  I  was  associated  in  opening 
the  station  here.  Our  pioneer  work  in  Pyeng  Yang 
consisted  of  scattering  the  news  of  the  Gospel.  We 
were  stoned  now  and  then  by  the  mob,  but  without 
serious  injury.  In  the  autumn  of  1893  I  moved  to 
Pyeng  Yang,  and  settled  in  a  Korean  house.  After 
preaching  every  night  for  three  months,  and  giving 
daily  Catechetical  instruction,  I  baptized  seven  men  on 
the  8th  of  January,  1894. 

"That  spring  saw  the  commencement  of  fresh  per- 
secution. Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hall  and  their  baby  had  just 
arrived  in  Pyeng  Yang,  when  their  helper  and  mine, 
a  man  named  Han  Suk  Chin,  together  with  the  men 
who  had  sold  us  our  houses,  were  thrown  into  prison. 
I  well  remember  the  night  of  the  arrest  and  the  im- 
prisonment. My  helper  and  some  fifteen  others  were 
holding  a  prayer  meeting.  They  had  just  finished  a 
study  of  that  passage  which  says:  'And  be  not  afraid 
of  them  which  kill  the  body  but  have  not  power  to 
destroy  the  soul/  when  the  door  was  broken  open,  and 
in  came  the  officers  from  the  magistrate.  With  a  big 
stick  of  cord-wood  they  began  beating  the  Christians. 
They  tied  several  of  them  with  a  red  cord,  indicating 
capital  offense,  and  haled  them  to  prison. 

"Some  of  them,  however,  were  released  on  the  way, 
but  my  helper,  Han,  and  others  were  put  in  the  stocks, 
after  they  had  been  beaten.  They  were  threatened 
with  death  unless  they  cursed  God.  Two  heathen 
willingly  did  this,  but  the  two  Christians  refused. 
They  were  led  out  as  they  supposed  for  execution,  and 
given  another  chance  to  recant.  They  stood  the  test, 
however,  and  then,  instead  of  being  executed,  were,  to 
their  su^-prise  released.  As  they  ran  for  their  lives 
they  were  stoned,  but  fortunately  escaped.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  one  of  the  men  at  the  prayer  meet- 
ing, who  was  not  then  a  Christian,  accepted  Christ  that 
night,  and  was  one  of  the  first  seven  ministers  ordained 
in  Korea. 


PERILOUS  DAYS  IN  PYHNG  YANG.  23 

"At  this  time  among  the  people  who  had  become 
interested  in  the  Gospel  was  a  young  m.an  who  lived 
in  the  country  outside  Pyeng  Yang.  As  soon  as  he 
heard  of  the  imprisonment  of  these  men,  he  started 
into  the  city  to  share  whatever  fate  awaited  the  Chris- 
tians. His  name  was  Yee  Yung  Un.  He  became  my 
language  teacher ;  teacher  of  the  first  primary  Christian 
school;  then  an  evangelist. 

"Another  interesting  early  convert  was  a  young 
scholar  and  Government  clerk  named  Kim,  who  was 
making  a  study  of  all  religious  systems.  In  the  autumn 
of  1893  when  I  first  began  work  in  Pyeng  Yang,  he 
came  day  after  day  and  listened  outside  the  door  of  the 
sarang  while  I  talked  to  those  inside.  He  also  pur- 
chased a  New  Testament  and  read  it  at  night.  He 
was  the  first  believer,  the  first  ordained  elder  of  the 
Church,  and  was  assistant  pastor  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  will  soon  graduate  from  a  theological 
seminary. 

"These  three  men — Han,  Yee  and  Kim,  became  the 
leaders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pyeng  Yang. 
One  of  them,  Yee,  set  the  standard  that  if  a  man  was 
not  doing  personal  work  he  was  not  ready  for  admis- 
sion into  the  Church.  Han,  after  several  years  in 
Pyeng  Yang,  went  as  an  evangelist  into  the  country, 
built  up  a  church  of  300  members  and  several  smaller 
churches,  and  was  one  of  the  first  seven  men  ordained 
into  the  Presbyterian  ministry  in  Korea.  In  1909  he 
removed  to  Seoul  for  pastoral  work,  and  became  editor 
of  the  Korean  religious  weekly,  which  was  being 
established. 

"Kim,  the  man  who  listened  outside  the  door,  be- 
came assistant  pastor  of  Central  Church  in  Pyeng 
Yang;  led  his  two  friends.  Elder  Chun  and  Pastor  Kil 
Tpronounced  Keel),  to  Christ;  and  after  a  deep  spir- 
itual work  in  Central  Church  moved  to  the  country, 
and  took  charge  of  a  church  there. 

"The  third  of  this  trio,  Yee,  became  my  helper  and 
an  evangelist.  He  accompanied  me  in  all  my  itinera- 
ting work  in  those  early  years.  He  was  a  wonderful 
preacher,  and  a  marvelous  personal  worker.  All  along 
the  roads,  in  the  inns,  on  the  ferries,  everywhere,  he 


24  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

was  talking  the  Gospel  to  every  man  he  met.  He  led 
his  old  Confucianist  teacher  to  Christ,  and  he  in  turn 
became  a  teacher  when  the  Academy  was  established 
in  Pyeng  Yang. 

"In  the  midst  of  the  persecution  the  Japan-China 
war  broke  out  in  the  summer  of  1894.  The  city  went 
wild  with  consternation  the  night  the  rumor  reached 
us  that  the  palace  in  Seoul  had  been  captured  by  the 
Japanese.  With  rumors  of  the  approach  of  the  Chinese 
from  the  north  and  the  Japanese  from  the  south,  there 
was  terror  and  confusion  for  a  month.  The  only  quiet 
place  in  the  city  was  the  little  chapel,  where  the  Chris 
tians  gathered  together  for  prayer.  From  this  as  a 
centre  they  started  out  through  the  city  saying  to  the 
people,  'Only  trust  God,  and  it  will  be  all  right!' 
Scores  came  daily  to  the  chapel  to  inquire  for  news,  as 
I  was  the  only  foreigner  left  in  the  city.  During  these 
days  women  said  to  Han's  wife,  'It  is  so  restful  to  come 
in  here.  It  is  the  only  peaceful  place  in  the  city.'  It 
was  then  that  men  and  women  began  to  realize  that  the 
Christians  had  a  peace  and  support  which  they  did  not 
possess.  That  was  a  tremendous  factor  in  making 
known  the  blessing  and  power  of  Christianity. 

"In  a  short  time  15,000  Chinese  troops  entered  the 
city.  Upon  their  approach  thousands  of  Koreans  fled. 
Japanese  scouts  were  caught,  beheaded,  and  their 
heads  placed  on  the  city  gates.  Buddhist  priests,  who 
had  shaved  their  heads,  were  taken  for  Japanese  scouts 
in  disguise  and  slain.  The  Christians  became  alarmed 
for  my  safety,  and  after  an  early  morning  prayer  meet- 
ing came  to  me  saying  they  would  scatter  to  the 
country,  and  requested  me  to  leave  for  Seoul  in  order 
to  avoid  danger. 

"I  applied  to  the  Chinese  Governor  for  an  escort 
out  of  the  city  through  his  lines.  He  granted  the 
request,  and,  though  I  was  in  danger  from  the  escort 
who  were  a  set  of  freebooters,  and  also  from  the 
Korean  officials,  I  left  for  Seoul  on  the  14th  day  of 
August. 

"About  thirty  miles  out  from  Pyeng  Yang  I  left  the 
Chinese  escort  and,  traveling  a  few  hours  between  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  outposts,  I  reached  the  latter 


PERILOUS  DAYS  IN  PYENG  YANG.  2$ 

just  at  dusk  by  the  light  of  torches.  Our  little  com- 
pany alarmed  the  Japanese  scouts.  They  mistook  us 
for  an  advance  of  the  Chinese  army.  They  came  rush- 
ing over  the  wall,  and  with  a  click  of  the  guns  were 
about  to  fire,  when  our  company  stopped  short  on  the 
bridge,  and  they  discovered  their  mistake.  I  at  length 
reached  Seoul  in  safety.  Months  afterwards  I  learned 
that  on  the  very  day  I  set  out  from  Pyeng  Yang,  the 
14th  of  August,  my  name  was  on  the  missionary 
Prayer  Calendar  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the 
United  States.  Thus,  on  that  day  they  had  been  pray- 
ing for  me  in  many  lands. 

**The  battle  which  was  fought  about  a  month  later 
was  the  greatest  of  the  war.  Fifteen  thousand  Chinese 
and  14,000  Japanese  were  engaged  in  the  conflict. 
Immediately  after  the  battle  Mr.  Lee,  Mr.  Hall  and 
myself  started  for  Pyeng  Yang.  I  found  my  house 
looted  and  the  city  occupied  by  the  Japanese  soldiers. 
The  dead  Chinese  were  scattered  over  the  plain.  The 
rumor  went  through  the  district  that  the  missionaries 
were  back,  and  soon  the  Korean  refugees  came  stream- 
ing in  with  their  bundles  on  their  backs,  asking  for 
news  and  whether  it  was  safe  to  return.  Almost 
every  one  came  straight  to  the  Chapel.  Literally  thou- 
sands came  into  contact  with  us  at  that  time,  and  every 
man  heard  the  Gospel  story.  Not  only  were  services 
held  in  the  Church,  but  constantly  in  the  Sarang 
(guest-room)   we  preached  the  Gospel  to  all  comers. 

"It  was  at  that  period  that  a  profound  impression 
was  made  upon  the  whole  region.  The  Christians 
who  had  been  scattered  from  the  city  had  spread  the 
tidings  of  the  new  faith  throughout  the  entire  district. 
It  was  then  that  the  first  woman  believer  was  led  to 
Christ.  She  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  Women's 
Missionary  Society.  It  was  also  at  this  time  that  Dr. 
Hall  was  taken  with  typhoid  fever.  We  took  him  to 
Seoul,  but  he  only  lived  a  short  time.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  gentleness  and  love,  and  his  influence  lives  on 
in  the  hearts  of  some  of  the  men  he  led  to  Christ.  His 
wife  has  since  carried  on  a  large  medical  and  evangel- 
istic work  in  Pyeng  Yang,  conducting  a  hospital  and  a 
school  for  bHnd  girls. 


26  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

"Now  began  the  second  stage  of  the  work,  which 
was  one  of  continuous  and  rapid  growth.  In  all  our 
dealings  with  the  people  the  one  thing  that  was  held 
constantly  before  them  was  the  Scripture,  with  its  great 
fundamental  doctrines  of  sin,  salvation,  and  eternal 
life.  Even  before  the  missionary  could  talk  the 
language  he  could  point  out  the  texts  of  God's  Word 
to  them.  No  appeal  was  made  to  them  to  become 
Christians  because  of  material  advantages,  or  because 
of  the  benefits  of  civilization,  but  they  were  given  the 
pure  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  of  forgiveness  of  sin,  and 
of  joy  and  peace  and  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ. 

"God's  Word  and  Prayer — these  were  the  secrets 
of  all  our  success.  These  naturally  produced  the  spirit 
of  enthusiastic  effort  for  individuals,  the  natural  every- 
day talking  of  the  Gospel  to  any  one  and  every  one. 
The  chief  means  of  winning  the  converts  were  daily 
conversations  in  the  sarangs  with  guests  rather  than 
formal  religious  services.  The  public  meetings  were 
specially  intended  for  the  converts  who  had  been  won 
by  personal  effort. 

What  is  now  the  large  Central  Church  had  its  be- 
ginning in  a  little  room  eight  by  twelve  feet.  There 
the  first  baptisms  took  place.  The  second  year  they 
moved  into  the  inner  quarters  of  the  same  house,  a 
room  about  eight  by  sixteen  feet.  This  was  enlarged 
from  year  to  year  until  it  occupied  the  entire  house, 
with  a  seating  capacity  of  about  250.  An  addition 
was  then  built,  and  the  congregation  ran  up  to  about 
500  people  packed  closely  together.  The  necessity 
for  a  large  building  was  now  apparent.  The  present 
site  was  purchased,  and  subscriptions  amounting  to 
1000  yen  (about  iioo)  were  made  by  the  Korean 
Christians.  The  first  wing  of  the  present  building 
accommodated  about  800  people,  but  before  it  was 
completed  it  was  found  to  be  too  small,  and  another 
wing  was  added  providing  accommodation  for  a  con- 
gregation of  1500  people.  Before  the  Church  was 
entirely  finished  it  was  once  more  too  small,  and  the 
South  Gate  congregation  was  sent  off  to  become  an 
independent  Church. 

"In  the  early  days  of  the  work  in  Pyeng  Yang  the 


PERILOUS  DAYS  IN   PYENG   YANG.  2^ 

believers  in  the  villages  within  a  radius  of  ten  or  fifteen 
miles  of  the  city  attended  Central  Church.  Gradually 
as  they  became  strong  enough  to  have  local  Churches 
in  the  various  villages,  they  branched  off  from  the 
central  congregation.  In  this  way  about  thirty-five 
country  congregations  have  sprung  from  the  Central 
Church.  In  addition  four  city  congregations  were 
sent  off,  the  last  branch  consisting  of  561  members. 
This  makes  a  total  of  39  churches  which  have  grown 
out  of  Central  Church  within  a  period  of  fifteen  years. 

"The  missionary  activities  of  Central  Church  have 
been  constant  and  widespread.  The  officers  and 
leaders  have  gone  to  all  parts  of  Korea  holding  Bible 
Classes  and  evangelistic  services.  The  Women's  Mis- 
sionary Society  has  for  years  maintained  two  mission- 
aries. In  1907  Mr.  Lee  and  I  exchanged  places  with 
the  assistant  pastor,  Mr.  Kil,  he  becoming  pastor  and 
we  gladly  taking  the  position  of  advisers;  so  that  the 
ideal  for  which  we  had  long  been  striving  became  a 
reality — a  fully  organized,  self-supporting  Korean 
Church,  with  a  Korean  pastor  and  board  of  elders  and 
deacons. 

"The  Methodists  entered  the  city  contemporaneously 
with  ourselves.  Their  work  also  advanced  apace  in 
city  and  country.  They  have  two  congregations  in 
Pyeng  Yang,  which,  with  our  Churches,  gives  a  Chris- 
tian constituency  of  some  80CX)  people  in  a  population 
of  40,000  Koreans." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Little:  Lik^  Stories. 

Tai,es  of  Heroism  and  Faith. 

It  is  ill  the  transformed  lives  of  individuals  that  one 
best  realizes  the  change  which  has  come  over  a  por- 
tion of  the  Korean  nation.  During  our  three-weeks' 
stay  in  Pyeng  Yang,  my  mother  was  the  guest  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Samuel  A.  Moffett.  In  the  course  of  my  fre- 
quent visits  to  their  home,  I  heard  from  them  many 
beautiful  and  inspiring  incidents  of  the  Korean  Chris- 
tians— of  their  self-sacrifice  for  their  new  found  faith, 
of  their  love  for  the  lost,  and  of  their  simple,  childlike 
trust  in  their  Heavenly  Father. 

Such  narratives  from  real  life  reveal  the  character 
of  the  Koreans  better  than  pages  of  physiological  dis- 
sertation. Further  they  show  the  rather  startling  fact 
that  the  type  of  Christianity  in  vogue  in  Korea  to-day 
is  far  more  analogous  to  that  of  the  apostolic  age  than 
the  lukewarm  faith  and  profession  of  some  Christian 
lands. 

I  collected  a  number  of  these  tales  from  real  life  as 
related  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Moffett.  The  first  describes 
the  transformation  of 

Hong  the  Sorcerer. 

*'Hong  Soo  Kil  was  a  sorcerer,  a  demon,  a  fighter, 
a  drunkard.  He  was  a  terror  to  the  people  throughout 
the  whole  district.  As  the  Koreans  traveled  through 
that  part  of  the  country  they  would  pray  at  the  shrines, 
'Don't  let  me  meet  Hong  to-day.'       The   sorcerer's 


LITTLE  Lltt  STORIUS.  ^ 

old  mother  became  a  Christian.  She  was  84  years  of 
age  when  I  examined  her  for  baptism.  I  said  to  her, 
'How  do  you  know  that  God  loves  you?'  She  sprang 
up,  and  quick  as  a  flash  shouted  out,  'Well,  do  you 
suppose  if  He  did  not  love  me  He  would  have  sent 
His  Son  down  here  to  earth  to  save  me  from  my  sins? 
Don't  you  know  that  yet  ?' 

"At  length  one  of  her  sons  became  a  Christian,  and 
at  last  Hong  himself  was  led  to  Christ.  The  one-time 
sorcerer  had  an  only  son  whom  he  dearly  loved.  The 
son  was  taken  seriously  ill.  Hong  prayed  and  prayed 
that  he  might  recover,  but  he  did  not.  Later  Hong 
arose  in  a  meeting  in  Central  Church,  and  with  the 
tears  raining  down  his  cheeks,  told  how  for  three  days 
he  had  undergone  tremendous  temptation.  But  at 
length  he  got  the  victory.  In  closing  his  testimony  he 
said :  'It's  all  right.  Now  I  am  just  waiting  to  join  my 
son  in  Heaven.     I  know  I  will  see  him  again.' 

**The  man  who  had  been  a  terror  to  all  the  district 
became  such  a  quiet,  meek  person  that  one  would  never 
imagine  he  had  been  an  outlaw  in  previous  years.  He 
became  an  active  Christian  worker,  and  a  great  soul- 
winner.  He  pleaded  so  persistently  with  a  saloon- 
keeper who  lived  next  door  that  the  man  said  he  could 
not  stand  it  any  longer,  and  moved  to  the  country. 
About  four  years  after  his  son's  death.  Hong  also  had 
a  triumphant  entrance  into  glory,  to  meet  his  son  and 
aged  mother,  and,  best  of  all,  his  Saviour. 

The:  Woman  with  the  Happy  Face. 

"She  lived  just  inside  the  Seven  Star  Gate.^  She 
was  severely  persecuted  by  her  husband,  who  tried  to 
keep  her  away  from  Church.  He  would  beat  her  for 
going  to  the  meetings,  but  this  did  not  deter  her.  Then 
he  tried  binding  her,  but  when  he  released  her  she 
attended  the  services  just  as  before.  The  next  Sunday 
he  bound  and  gagged  her,  and  thought  that  now  she 
was  surely  cured ;  but  the  following  Sunday  she  again 
trudged  off  to  the  Church.  This  persecution  went  on 
for  months.  During  all  this  period  she  would  come  to 
the  Wednesday  class  with  such  a  bright,  happy  face 
that  I  never  imagined  she  was  suffering  ill-treatment 
in  her  home.     When  I  heard  about  her  hardships,  I 


30  KORl^A   FOR   CHRIST. 

asked  her  how  she  could  endure  it.  She  repHed  that  it 
was  because  she  had  constant  peace  and  happiness  in 
her  heart.  At  length,  however,  the  woman  had  her 
reward.  Her  husband  also  became  a  Christian.  Then 
she  was  happier  still,  and  her  face  shone  with  yet 
greater  joy. 

After  Many  Days. 

"One  winter  day  at  the  beginning  of  our  work  in 
Pyeng  Yang  the  weather  was  so  cold  the  people  would 
not  come  to  see  us.  Han,  my  helper,  and  I  took  some 
sheet  tracts  and  stood  on  the  street  corner  giving  them 
away.  We  were  almost  frozen  with  the  cold,  for  the 
thermometer  was  far  below  zero,  and  the  wind  was 
blowing  a  gale. 

"Seven  years  afterwards  a  man  came  into  my  study 
and  said,  *Do  you  remember  standing  on  the  street 
corner  one  cold  day  in  such-and-such  a  year,  giving 
out  tracts?'  *Yes,'  I  replied,  *I  remember  it,  for  I 
was  almost  frozen.'  'Well,'  he  said,  *you  gave  me 
one,  and  I  read  it  and  re-read  it,  and  finally  I  became 
a  Christian !" 

Dr.  Moffett  also  recalled  the  fact  that  only  a  few 
days  previously  a  boy  had  come  into  his  study  carrying 
an  old  tract,  brown  with  age.  Upon  it  was  the  follow- 
ing message  from  a  man  67  years  old :  "Nineteen  years 
ago  you  gave  me  this  tract.  I  have  had  it  ever  since, 
and  have  now  been  a  Christian  for  several  years.* 

Continuing  Dr.  Moffett  told  how  a  chance  word  may 
bring  forth  fruit  years  afterwards:  "I  once  got  into 
a  market  town  away  in  the  northeast  of  Korea  in  a 
district  which  had  never  before  been  visited  by  a 
foreigner.  In  the  midst  of  my  preaching  a  man  came 
rushing  in  exclaiming  'Is  Ma  Moksa  (Pastor  Moffett) 
here  ?'  'Yes,'  I  replied.  'Well,'  he  said,  'Three  years 
ago  I  met  you  walking  along  on  the  road  to  Seoul. 
I  heard  you  were  here.'  The  man's  sudden  entrance 
in  this  manner  transformed  the  audience,  and  gave  me 
a  new  grip  on  them.  There  is  a  church  in  that  town 
to-day. 

Won  by  Strategy. 

"In  a  country  village  a  Korean  coolie  was  taken  ill. 
He  came  to  Pyeng  Yang,  and  Pastor  Kil,  of  Central 


UTTIvK  LIFE  STORIES.  3 1 

Church,  allowed  him  to  stay  in  his  quang  (gate-house). 
He  was  a  man  of  constant  prayer,  rising  early  in  the 
morning  and  praying  a  great  deal.  He  grew  better 
in  health,  and  returned  to  the  country. 

'*In  his  village  there  was  an  old  gentleman,  who  was 
a  very  able  scholar.  He  was  connected  with  a  so-called 
church,  which  is  the  child  of  a  political  party.  The  old 
gentleman  kept  a  cow,  and  rose  early  each  morning  to 
feed  her.  One  day  this  ignorant  coolie  made  a  propo- 
sition to  the  scholarly  old  man  for  an  exchange  of 
labor.  The  old  gentleman  said,  'What  kind  of  work 
could  we  exchange?'  The  coolie  replied,  *It  must  be 
hard  for  you  to  get  up  early  on  these  cold  mornings 
to  feed  your  cow.  I  am  ignorant,  and  cannot  read, 
while  you  are  a  great  scholar.  I  will  come  every  morn- 
ing and  do  that  work,  if  you  will  read  a  chapter  in  the 
Bible  every  day.*  The  old  gentleman  laughed,  but  was 
so  glad  of  the  assistance  that  he  accepted  the  offer. 
Of  course  the  coolie  was  praying  for  him  all  the  time. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  month  the  old  scholar  had  be- 
come so  much  interested  in  God's  Word  that  he  began 
reading  the  book  for  himself.  He  shortly  became  a 
believer  and  identified  himself  with  the  Church.  The 
coolie  was  full  of  joy  over  the  success  of  his  strategy 
for  winning  the  man  to  Christ. 

The  Korean  Woman's  Mite. 

"At  the  time  the  Korean  Christians  in  Pyeng  Yang 
were  building  Central  Church  there  was  a  woman  in 
a  country  village  who  was  driven  out  of  her  home  by 
her  husband  because  she  was  a  Christian.  This  was  a 
frequent  occurrence  in  this  country  a  few  years  ago. 
She  took  her  two  little  children  and  came  to  this  city. 
For  a  year  she  was  either  cared  for  in  the  homes  of  the 
Christians,  or  was  given  work  by  Christian  Koreans 
so  that  she  might  support  herself  and  her  children. 

"During  the  period  of  this  woman's  direst  poverty 
she  had  a  great  longing  to  help  in  the  erection  of 
Central  Church.  Week  after  week  as  she  was  able 
she  laid  aside  one  'cash'  (one-tenth  of  a  cent)  at  a 
time,  until  she  had  saved  one  hundred  of  these  coins, 
which  she  gave  to  the  Church.     It  had  taken  her  an 


32  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

entire  year  to  save  this  amount,  and  the  total  value 
of  the  coins  was  only  ten  cents.  But  the  story  was 
related  many  times,  and  her  heroic  self-sacrifice  greatly 
encouraged  others  to  assist  in  the  erection  of  the  build- 
ing." 

Mrs.  Mofiett  hod  been  telling  this  story  to  a  number 
of  us  as  we  sat  around  the  fireside.  As  she  concluded 
Dr.  Moffett  added:  "Times  have  now  changed  since 
the  women  were  driven  out  of  their  homes  for  the 
sake  of  Christ.  I  am  informed  that  to-day  out  in  the 
country  villages  when  a  child  cries  in  a  heathen  home, 
the  father  often  soothes  it  by  saying,  'Don't  cry!  I 
will  give  you  in  marriage  to  a  Christian.' " 


CHAPTER  V. 

Kih's  QuEisT  FOR  God. 

The:  Life:  Story  of  a  Kore:an  Pastor. 

One  of  the  Riosc  remarkable  episodes  in  modern 
missioii  nistory  is  Pastor  Kil's  seven  years'  quest  for 
God.  He  is  to-day  Pastor  of  the  largest  Church  in 
Korea,  which  is  in  some  respects  the  most  remarkable 
Church  in  the  Far  East,  for  it  was  here  that  the  most 
thrilling  scenes  of  the  great  Korean  revival  were  wit- 
nessed. 

A  striking  picture  of  Pastor  Kil's  church  at  prayer 
recently  appeared  in  the  pages  of  the  "Korean  Mission 
Field";  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  W.  L.  Swallen,  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  the  Pyeng  Yang  district,  and  a 
worker  of  great  fervor  and  consecration. 

Mr.  Kil,  the  Korean  Pastor  of  the  large  Central 
Church  in  Pyeng  Yang,  having  felt  for  some  time 
that  a  kind  of  coldness  had  come  over  the  Christians 
in  the  city,  resolved  to  go  to  the  Church  every  morning 
at  dawn  with  one  of  his  elders  to  pray.  These  two 
men  of  humble,  trustful  faith,  met  thus  in  prayer 
every  morning  a  hmc  ctiier  four  o'clock  for  about  two 
months,  without  having  spoken  to  any  one  about  it — 
in  fact,  I  think  no  one  knew  of  it.  But  somehow  when 
the  fact  gradually  became  known  to  a  few,  some  score 
or  more  united  with  them  in  these  morning  prayers. 
Then  the  Pastor,  seeing  there  was  a  desire  on  the  part 
of  others  to  join  him,  announced  to  the  Church  on 
Sunday  morning  that  any  one  wishing  to  pray  with 
them  might  do  so,  and  the  bell  would  be  rung  at  4.30. 

*The  ^'Korean  Mission  Field"  is  published  monthly  at 
Seoul  in  the  interests  of  all  Evangelical  Missions  in  Korea. 
It  is  edited  by  Dr.  Lillias  H.  Underwood.  It  is  a  periodical 
that  will  bring  inspiration  to  every  one  interested  in  For- 
eign Missions.  The  Magazine  may  be  secured  for  a  year 
by  sending  50  cents  or  2s.  Id.  to  Rev.  R.  O.  Reiner,  Busi- 
ness Manager,  Seoul,  Korea. 


34  KORSA  FOR  CHRIST. 

"The  next  morning  at  i  A.  M.  people  began  coming 
and  by  2  o'clock  several  hundred  had  gathered.  When 
the  bell  was  rung  there  were  four  or  five  hundred 
Christians  present,  and  after  a  few  days  the  number 
each  morning  was  between  six  and  seven  hundred. 
On  the  fourth  morning,  while  praying,  the  whole  con- 
gregation suddenly  broke  down  weeping  for  their  sins 
of  indifference,  coldness,  and  lack  of  love  and  energy 
for  work.  Then  came  the  joy  of  forgiveness  and  a 
strong  desire  to  be  shown  ways  and  means  to  work  for 
God.  Four  more  mornings  were  thus  spent  in  prayer, 
singing  praises,  and  asking  God's  direction.  The 
Pastor  now  thought  it  was  time  to  do  something,  and 
asked  how  many  would  give  a  whole  day  to  go  out 
and  preach  to  unbelieving  souls.  All  hands  went  up. 
Then  he  asked  how  many  would  go  for  two  days. 
Again  nearly  all  hands  were  raised.  At  the  request 
for  three  days  fewer  hands  went  up;  and  so  on 
through  four,  five  and  six  days,  the  number  gradually 
lessening,  but  even  for  seven  days  there  were  quite  a 
number.  Since  then  the  whole  Church  has  been 
eagerly  going  out  and  leading  others  to  Christ."* 
'»<'  "Mil  Moska  (Pastor  Kil)  is  loved  and  honored  by  the 
Christian  Church  throughout  Korea.  He  is  acknowl- 
edged to  be  the  foremost  Korean  Pastor,  and  has  been 
mightily  used  of  God  in  promoting  His  Kingdom  in 
Pyeng  Yang  and  district.  His  wife  and  children  are 
also  zealous  believers,  and  his  eldest  son  expects  soon 
to  enter  the  ministry. 

During  my  stay  in  Pyeng  Yang  it  was  my  privilege 
one  morning  to  have  an  interesting  conversation  with 
Pastor  Kil  at  the  home  of  Dr.  W.  M.  Baird,  one  of 
Korea's  pioneer  missionaries,  who  has  largely  moulded 
the  educational  polity  of  Christian  missions  in  the 
country.  Through  Mrs.  Baird,  the  author  of  a  fas- 
cinating book  entitled,  "Daybreak  in  Korea,"  I 
secured  from  Pastor  Kil  the  story  of  his  long  search 
for  the  truth. 

*  The  total  number  of  days  of  service  promised  at  that 
early  morning  prayer  meeting  was  over  three  thousand;  or 
nearly  six  years'  continuous  work  for  one  man. 


Klli's  QUEST  JPOR  GOD.  35 

"Even  from  the  time  I  was  ten  years  of  age  I  real- 
ized that  the  world  was  very  unsatisfying.  I  felt  that 
there  was  no  real  pleasure  in  it.  My  heart  was  sad 
and  I  wept  much.  At  school  I  was  continually  looking 
for  some  new  doctrine.  We  sometimes  had  visitors 
there,  and  as  I  listened  occasionally  to  the  conversation 
of  the  teacher  and  the  visitors  I  would  hope  that  some 
new  teaching  would  be  revealed  that  would  help  me. 
I  longed  to  become  the  disciple  of  some  one  who  would 
lead  me  into  a  clearer  light. 

*'At  seventeen,  still  unsatisfied,  I  came  to  Pyeng 
Yang.  For  a  time  I  went  into  business.  I  also  studied 
medicine.  While  going  about  the  country  as  a  mer- 
chant there  rang  in  my  ears  continually  an  old  Korean 
saying  to  the  effect  that  some  time  a  great  teacher 
would  appear.  Almost  every  man  I  met  set  me  to 
wondering  whether  he  was  the  great  teacher  that  was 
to  come. 

"About  this  time  I  met  a  man  who  said  there  was 
a  doctrine  of  living  forever  if  one  would  follow  certain 
practices  (Buddhism),  the  central  principle  of  which 
was  to  shut  out  sin  by  good  works.  I  also  came  across 
a  large  book  of  Buddhist  prayers,  which  I  carried  up  to 
a  solitary  place  in  the  mountains  to  study.  I  now  began 
a  search  for  Truth,  which  continued  until  I  found  the 
light.  Each  year  I  would  spend  from  twenty  to  a  hun- 
dred days  on  the  mountain  side.  The  first  year  I  spent 
three  months  in  that  lonely  spot.  I  ate  as  little  as 
possible  and  slept  scarcely  at  all.  When  I  felt  sleep 
overcoming  me  I  took  sulphur  sticks,  made  a  fire,  and 
burned  my  legs  in  order  to  keep  awake.  When  that 
failed  I  rubbed  my  eyes  with  ice,  or  sat  on  a  stone 
beside  a  brook  and  poured  cold  water  over  my  shoul- 
ders. 

"All  this  time  there  was  a  continual  struggle  going 
on  in  my  mind.  I  was  trying  to  put  away  every  thought 
of  worldly  advancement  and  every  filthy  or  unclean 
impulse,  for  I  knew  right  and  wrong  then  just  as  well 
as  I  do  now.  I  endeavored  to  keep  my  mind  pure  by 
concentrating  upon  the  idea  of  a  full  moon  in  my 
stomach.  By  centering  my  thoughts  upon  this  I  en- 
deavored to  shut  out  the  .worlds  and  secure  a  view  of 


36  KORRA  FOR  CHRIST. 

spiritual  truth.  I  wanted  to  get  a  vision  of  some 
spiritual  being,  but  all  the  time,  in  spite  of  my  efforts 
my  mind  was  filled  with  thoughts  I  would  fain  have 
dismissed.  I  could  not  get  the  victory.  At  the  end  of 
my  stay  on  the  mountain  side,  when  I  went  to  the 
homes  of  my  friends,  I  was  filled  with  disgust  because 
their  conversation  was  all  about  worldly  advancement, 
or  interspersed  with  filthy  stories. 

"At  this  time  a  comrade  named  Kim  Chong-Sup, 
who  was  also  seeking  after  spiritual  things,  told  me  of 
a  man  named  Ma  Moska  (Dr.  S.  A.  Moffett),  who  was 
preaching  a  doctrine  that  opened  up  the  future,  and 
told  how  to  go  to  a  good  place  after  death.  I  did  not 
think  much  of  this,  however.  I  was  still  bent  on  work- 
ing out  my  salvation  by  shutting  out  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  evil  spirits.  But  I  took  pains  to  meet 
Dr.  Moffett.  He  told  me  the  story  of  the  Gospel,  and  I 
secured  a  New  Testament.  I  read  this  book  but  still 
held  on  to  Buddhism. 

"My  comrade,  Kim,  however,  became  an  earnest 
Christian  through  Dr.  Moffett's  teaching,  and  contin- 
ually tried  to  bring  me  to  believe  the  same  doctrine. 
Kim  lent  me  "The  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  as  I  read 
this  book  I  wept  again  and  again,  for  I  realized  for  the 
first  time  that  I  was  a  great  sinner.  From  this  time  I 
began  to  read  the  New  Testament  more  earnestly,  and 
I  was  gradually  led  to  see  that  Jesus  was  certainly  God. 
I  began  to  pray  to  God.  My  prayer  was  not  to  God 
as  our  Father,  but  simply  to  God  as  the  highest  spiritual 
power  in  the  universe.  This  seemed  to  bring  no  special 
benefit  to  my  soul. 

"One  night  as  I  slept  I  was  suddenly  awakened  by 
something  like  a  voice  in  my  ear,  as  of  some  one  call- 
ing, and  repeating  my  name.  *Kil  Sundooya!  Kil 
Sundooya !'  As  I  heard  the  call  twice  repeated  I  knew 
in  my  soul  that  this  was  the  voice  of  God,  my  Father. 
Previously  I  had  prayed  with  fear  and  trembling  and 
much  weeping.  I  had  only  seen  myself  as  a  sinner 
with  no  certainty  of  salvation.  But  now  all  at  once 
I  saw  myself  a  saved  sinner,  and  I  saw  God  as  my 
Father.  I  burst  out  praising  God,  and  crying  'Father, 
God !     Father,  God !'    At  the  same  moment  there  came 


KOREA  FOR  CHRIST.  37 

surging  through  my  soul  what  I  had  never  found  in 
all  my  worship  of  Buddha,  and  that  was  the  glorious 
assurance  of  salvation.  I  realized  that  in  all  the  years 
of  my  following  Buddha  I  was  like  a  man  trying  to 
climb  up  a  precipice  by  means  of  a  rope,  while  in  my 
ears  rang  a  cry  of  warning,  'Look  out!  Your  rope  is 
rotten.     You  are  going  to  fall.* 

"It  was  just  after  I  exclaimed  'Father*  in  prayer 
and  praise  that  I  perceived  very  vividly  Christ  as  my 
Saviour,  and  realized  what  agony  He  had  undergone 
for  me.  I  accepted  Him  as  my  personal  Saviour. 
Following  this  vision  of  the  Redeemer  I  felt  a  rapture 
that  words  cannot  describe.  It  thrilled  my  whole  soul 
and  lasted  for  some  hours. 

"From  that  night  a  great  longing  to  rescue  the  lost 
possessed  me.  I  went  up  to  almost  every  one  I  met  on 
the  streets,  urging  them  to  become  believers.  I  seemed 
to  my  friends  like  a  crazy  man,  but  I  saw  people  falling 
into  hell  and  felt  that  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost  in 
warning  them.  I  had  another  friend  named  Kim,  who 
lived  a  thousand  li  (330  miles)  away  in  the  snow- 
covered  mountains.  We  had  once  studied  Buddhism 
together.  I  became  possessed  with  an  intense  desire 
that  Kim  should  know  the  true  Gospel.  To  reach  the 
place  where  he  lived  one  had  to  go  through  snow  up 
to  the  armpits.  As  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  to  reach 
him  I  agonized  in  prayer  that  God  would  bring  him 
down  to  me,  for  he  was  a  much  younger  man  than  I. 
Later  I  learned  the  sequel  to  my  prayers.  One  night 
far  away  in  his  mountain  home  Kim  was  awakened 
with  the  impression  that  he  must  go  down  to  his  old 
teacher,  Kil.  'When  he  told  his  grandfather  of  his 
decision  he  replied,  'Why,  you  are  a  crazy  fool  to  think 
of  such  a  thing.  See  the  snow  up  to  your  armpits. 
You  will  die  on  the  way.*  Nothing  daunted,  however, 
Kim  started  out,  and  at  last  reached  me  here  at  Pyeng 
Yang.  A  Christian  friend  and  myself  spent  five  days 
pleading  with  him.  On  the  fifth  day  he  saw  the  Light. 
He  immediately  became  the  most  zealous  of  us  all, 
going  about  everywhere  exhorting  others  to  accept  the 
new  doctrine.     Now  he  is  a  minister  of  the  Gospel." 

It  was  my  privilege  to  spend  three  weeks  in  Pyeng 


38  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

Yang,  and  to  study  at  first  hand  the  Christians  in  that 
city.  Their  love  for  God's  Word,  their  faith  in  God, 
and  their  passion  for  souls,  are  an  inspiration  to  every 
visitor.  Early  in  the  year  19 lo  in  less  than  a  month 
there  were  about  1500  new  believers  enrolled  in  the 
various  churches  of  the  city. 

Pastor  Kil  writing  to  a  missionary  in  Syen  Chun, 
Rev.  George  S.  McCune,  concerning  this  period  of 
harvest  said :  *1  am  continually  praying  that  you  may 
always  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  Amen.  I  praise 
God  for  the  wonderful  manifestation  of  His  glory.  I 
cannot  stop  the  flow  of  tears  as  I  think  of  it.  Here 
at  this  time  college  and  academy  students  are  enthusi- 
astically preaching,  and  even  the  primary  school  pupils 
are  overflowing  with  enthusiasm  in  proclaiming  the 
love  of  God.  Even  the  little  tots  of  seven  years  gath- 
ered together,  and  brought  money  to  buy  tracts  and 
Gospels.  They  took  these  out  on  the  streets,  and  took 
turns  at  preaching.  These  tiny  boys  filled  with  fiery 
zeal  stood  telling  the  story  of  Jesus  with  tears  stream- 
ing down  their  faces.  They  went  to  individuals,  seized 
them  by  their  wrists,  and  pleaded  with  them  to  accept 
Jesus  as  their  Saviour.  Up  to  yesterday  some  four 
hundred  men  have  stood  up  in  the  churches  and  con- 
fessed Christ  for  the  first  time — in  three  or  four  days. 
Some  testified  that  on  the  previous  days  when  these 
little  boys  preached  to  them  they  realized  their  sins 
and  broke  down  in  tears.  Praise;  praise  the  Lord! 
All  glory  to  our  precious  Jesus !  What  a  glorious  privi- 
lege to  live  in  such  a  time  of  His  grace." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  THOUSAND  BIBLE  CONFERENCES. 

Th^  Interesting  Journey  of  Rev.  Graham  LeE. 

The  missionaries  in  Korea  are  agreed  that  the  corner- 
stone of  their  work  Hes  in  the  system  of  Bible  Training 
Classes,  which  is  in  vogue  throughout  the  country. 
The  plan  was  originated  almost  at  the  commencement 
of  mission  work  in  Korea,  and  the  land  is  to-day 
honeycombed  with  these  unique  gatherings.  They  are 
not  Bible  Classes  held  each  Sunday  throughout  the 
year,  but  are  rather  annual  Bible  Conferences  lasting 
for  a  week  or  ten  days.  They  are  modeled  somewhat 
along  the  lines  of  the  Keswick  and  Northfield  Confer- 
ences, but  are  devoted  more  exclusively  to  the  study  of 
God's  Word  than  either  the  English  or  American  gath- 
erings. Instead  of  there  being  one  such  Conference 
for  the  Christians  of  Korea,  there  are  no  less  than  a 
thousand  throughout  the  country. 

The  visitor  to  Korea  is  at  first  puzzled  by  the  multi- 
plicity of  these  Bible  Training  Classes,  but  the  plan 
upon  which  they  are  organized  is  simplicity  itself. 
First  there  is  the  local  conference  held  in  a  single 
Church  for  the  Christians  of  that  community.  Then 
there  are  scores  of  district  classes,  where  the  members 
of  many  groups  will  gather  together  for  a  week  of 
Bible  study.  Finally,  there  are  more  than  a  score  of 
general  classes,  where  sometimes  looo  or  1200  Chris- 
tians gather  from  long  distances  to  listen  to  God's 
Word  expounded  by  the  missionaries  and  leading 
Korean  teachers.  These  general  classes  are  somewhat 
akin  to  the  old  Jewish  festivals.  Like  the  children  of 
Israel  in  days  of  old,  the  Koreans  frequently  walk  a 
hundred  miles  or  more  to  attend  the  gatherings.  They 
pay  all  their  own  expenses,  and  then  for  ten  days  revel 
in  the  study  of  God's  Word.  They  will  make  any 
sacrifice  to  be  present  at  the  classes,  and  enjoy  them 
as  much  as  English-speaking  people  do  a  holiday  at 


40  kore;a  for  christ. 

the  seaside.  I  secured  a  photograph  of  seven  men  and 
two  boys  who  walked  over  a  hundred  miles  to  attend 
the  great  class  at  Syen  Chun,  which  had  a  membership 
of  over  thirteen  hundred. 

Dr.  Moffett  says  that  these  classes  "constitute  the 
most  unique  and  important  factor  in  the  development 
of  the  Korean  Church.  It  is  in  these  classes  that  our 
Christian  workers  are  first  trained  and  developed,  and 
here  that  the  colporteurs,  evangelists,  helpers,  and  Bible 
women  are  discovered,  and  appointed  to  work.  It 
was  in  these  classes  that  there  developed  the  remark- 
able movement  for  the  subscription  of  so  many  days 
of  preaching  according  to  which  the  Christian  spend 
the  subscribed  days  in  going  about  the  surrounding 
villages  from  house  to  house  telling  the  story  of  the 
Gospel.  This  originated  a  few  years  ago  with  the 
Koreans  themselves  in  two  country  classes  in  the  same 
month,  after  which  it  spread  all  through  the  country, 
until  tens  of  thousands  of  days  of  preaching  were  sub- 
scribed." 

This  giving  of  so  many  days  of  service  in  soul-win- 
ning impressed  me  as  much  as  anything  I  witnessed 
during  my  stay  in  Korea.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  during 
the  first  three  months  of  the  year  1910  an  aggregate  of 
fully  75,000  days  were  subscribed,  making  a  total  of 
205  years  of  service.  This  is  the  equivalent  of  five  men 
preaching  the  Gospel  continuously  in  Korea  for  41 
years  each.  Evangelistic  services  are  frequently  held  in 
connection  with  these  Bible  Classes,  and  thus  they 
become  great  soul-winning  agencies.  The  city  is  often 
divided  into  districts^  and  volunteers  under  the  leader- 
ship of  missionaries  make  systematic  daily  visitation 
of  each  house  in  the  community.  Frequently  the 
forenoons  are  spent  in  Bible  study,  the  afternoons  in 
prayer  meetings,  followed  by  personal  work  from  house 
to  house,  and  the  evenings  in  special  evangelistic 
meetings.  During  the  ten  days  of  the  business  men's 
Bible  class  in  1905  more  than  one  thousand  new  be- 
lievers were  enrolled.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  Bible 
Class  in  Pyeng  Yang  in  1907  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
fell  upon  the  community  in  such  a  manner  that  a 
revival  began  which  stirred  the  whole  Christian  world. 


A  THOUSAND  BIBLE  CONFERENCES.  4 1 

Mr.  Goforth,  of  China,  was  visiting  Korea  at  this  time. 
He  carried  the  revival  fire  to  China,  and  has  since 
been  mightily  used  of  God  in  promoting  a  great  spir- 
itual awakening  in  Manchuria,  and  in  various  districts 
of  China. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  witness  in  Pyeng  Yang  a  new 
form  of  the  Bible  Class  movement,  which  might  well  be 
adopted  in  English-speaking  countries.  Dr.  W.  M. 
Baird  and  Professor  A.  L.  Becker,  the  heads  of  the 
Academy  and  College  in  the  city  decided  to  dispense 
with  the  regular  studies  for  an  entire  week.  The  whole 
teaching  force  of  the  school  devoted  their  energy  to 
teaching  the  Word  of  God  to  the  500  students.  Two 
periods  of  study  were  held  each  morning,  and  one  early 
in  the  afternoon.  This  was  followed  by  a  half-hour 
prayer  meeting.  Then  the  students  were  given  tracts 
and  Gospels,  and  were  sent  out  in  bands  to  every  sec- 
tion of  the  city  to  do  personal  work  and  house-to-house 
visitation  for  the  rest  of  the  afternoon.  Each  group 
had  a  competent  leader,  and  they  visited  a  large  portion 
of  the  city  each  day.  It  was  an  inspiring  sight  to  watch 
those  hundreds  of  stalwart  Korean  young  men  evangel- 
izing the  city  with  hands  full  of  tracts  and  hearts  full 
of  love  in  their  soul-winning  quest.  In  the  evenings 
devotional  and  evangelistic  services  were  conducted  in 
the  Academy  chapel. 

Prominent  missionaries  are  frequently  called  from 
one  station  to  another  to  assist  in  teaching  the  Bible 
Classes.  One  of  the  longest  of  these  journeys  under- 
taken by  a  missionary  while  I  was  in  Korea  was  that 
made  by  Rev.  Graham  Lee  from  Pyeng  Yang  to  Kang 
Kai,  a  distance  of  over  200  miles.  It  was  a  difficult 
and  perilous  journey  across  a  country  of  hills  and 
frozen  rivers,  with  the  thermometer  sometimes  twenty- 
degrees  below  zero.  But  Mr.  Lee,  like  the  other  mis- 
sionaries in  Korea,  thinks  nothing  of  the  hardships  of 
such  journeys.  Together  with  Dr.  Moflfett,  Mr.  Lee 
has  helped  to  build  up  the  great  work  in  Pyeng  Yang. 
He  is  full  of  humor,  bubbling  over  with  joy,  and  is  the 
life  and  soul  of  every  gathering  he  attends.  He  is  not 
only  an  evangelistic  preacher,  but  is  one  of  the  best 
leaders  of  Gospel  singing  in  the  country.    William  T. 


42  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

Ellis,  the  well-known  writer  and  traveler,  while  passing 
through  Korea  declared  that  of  all  the  missionaries  he 
had  met  he  would  rather  stand  in  the  shoes  of  Graham 
Lee  than  in  those  of  any  one  else. 

After  Mr.  Lee's  return  to  Pyeng  Yang  from  his  trip 
to  Kang  Kai  he  told  the  missionaries  at  their  monthly 
meeting  the  following  story  of  his  journey: 

*'On  the  29th  of  December  I  started  for  Kang  Kai 
to  fulfil  my  mission  appointment  by  helping  in  the 
Bible  Training  Classes  of  that  district.  It  was  just 
seventeen  years  next  April  since  I  made  my  first 
attempt  to  visit  that  place.  In  1893  Dr.  Moffett  and  I 
were  invited  by  the  people  of  Pyeng  Yang  to  leave 
here,  and  cease  our  efforts  to  establish  a  mission  station. 
It  was  a  case  where  discretion  seemed  the  better  part 
of  valor,  so  we  left  with  the  intention  of  making  a 
visit  to  Kang  Kai.  Fifty  li  out  I  was  taken  ill,  and  we 
had  to  turn  back  and  make  for  Wonsan.  It  was  thus 
with  great  interest  that  I  finally  visited  Kang  Kai  this 
winter. 

"Mr.  Blair  sent  two  Korean  sleds  to  Anchu,  the 
nearest  point  on  the  railroad,  to  transport  my  belong- 
ings and  myself — one  sled  was  drawn  by  a  small  horse 
and  the  other  by  a  cow.  There  had  been  warm 
weather,  and  there  was  no  snow  on  the  roads,  so  I  was 
not  able  to  use  the  sleds  until  across  the  divide  between 
the  Yalu  and  the  Tai  Tong.  Hence  this  part  of  the 
journey  was  made  in  a  traveling  chair  carried  by  four 
coolies.  On  the  Yalu  side  of  the  pass  I  dismissed  the 
chair  bearers,  and  took  to  the  sleds  for  the  last  two 
days  of  the  journey. 

For  an  experience  never  to  be  forgotten  I  recom- 
mend a  irip  in  a  sled  over  the  mountain  roads  of  North 
Korea. 

"I  reached  Kang  Kai  late  on  Wednesday  evening, 
after  five  and  a  half  days  of  hard  traveling.  Mr.  Blair 
and  Dr.  Mills  were  attending  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Bible  Class,  so  the  ladies  of  the  station  were  the  first 
to  give  me  welcome.  They  seemed  to  be  interested 
in  watching  me  emerge  from  my  numerous  wraps,  and 
may  have  said  to  themselves,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to 
Secretary  Seward  when  he  watched  the  small,  cold- 


A  THOUSAND  BIBI,^  CONFERENCES.  43 

blooded  man  come  out  of  a  plentiful  supply  of  over- 
coats. ''That  is  the  biggest  shuck  for  a  little  nubbin 
that  I  ever  saw.  My  last  garment  was  a  large,  heavily- 
padded  Korean  jacket,  and  I  must  say  that  it  gave  one 
the  appearance  of  an  animated  barrel,  but  who  cares 
for  appearance  when  the  mercury  is  twenty  degrees 
below  zero. 

"The  Class  at  Kang  Kai  was  a  good  one,  and  the 
desire  of  the  people  for  better  things  and  growth  in 
spiritual  life  was  very  manifest.  The  Pocket  Testa- 
ment League  was  presented,  and  was  signed  by  nearly 
all  present.  Another  pledge  was  also  presented  in 
which  the  people  promised  to  pray  and  work  every  day 
for  a  million  souls  this  year.  This,  too,  was  received 
enthusiastically.  An  interesting  feature  of  the  class 
was  the  collection  that  was  taken  for  the  building  fund 
of  the  Kang  Kai  City  Church.  The  amount  subscribed 
was  410  yen.  This,  with  what  has  already  been  paid 
in,  makes  the  present  building  fund  2,500  yen.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  when  the  purchasing  power  of 
money  is  considered,  2500  yen  is  the  equivalent  of 
$12,500  in  United  States  money,  or  £2500  m  English 
currency.  This  is  a  splendid  record  for  a  church  that 
came  out  of  heathenism  less  than  ten  years  ago. 

**0n  the  homeward  journey  I  came  down  the  Yalu 
River  by  sled  on  the  ice.  At  Shin  We  Ju  I  was  able  to 
take  the  train  for  home.  The  weather  during  the 
return  trip  was  the  coldest  I  have  ever  experienced  in 
Korea,  but  the  oustanding  impression  of  the  journey 
was  one  of  gratitude  to  God  for  the  splendid  work 
that  is  being  done  by  the  Christians  of  the  Kang  Kai 
station." 


CHAPTER  VIL 

A  Nation  Transformed. 

A  Talk  with  Dr.  James  S.  Gale. 

Among  the  Korean  Missionaries  one  of  the  keenest 
observers  of  the  Hfe  and  character  of  the  people  is  Dr. 
James  S.  Gale,  of  Seoul.  He  is  not  only  one  of  the 
most  honored  missionaries  in  the  country,  having 
labored  in  Korea  for  a  score  of  years,  but  he  has  made 
the  entire  Christian  world  his  debtor  by  his  thrilling 
narratives  of  missionary  life  and  his  picturesque  por- 
trayal of  Korean  manners  and  customs.  In  "The  Van- 
guard" he  has  given  a  true  picture  of  the  heroic  work 
of  the  missionaries  in  leading  the  one-time  Hermit- 
Land  from  the  darkness  of  demon-worship  into  the 
glorious  light  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  "Korean 
Sketches"  he  has  dealt  with  the  lighter  side  of  the  life 
of  the  people. 

In  his  latest  book,  "Korea  in  Transition,"  Dr.  Gale 
says:  "Signposts  along  the  way  as  late  as  1880  said, 
'If  you  meet  a  foreigner,  kill  him ;  he  who  has  friendly 
relations  with  him  is  a  traitor  to  his  country.'  Until 
the  eighties  the  name  of  a  foreign  country  was  scarcely 
known.  All  outside  races  were  barbarians,  and  Korea 
desired  converse  with  none  of  them.  .  .  .  Sud- 
denly the  command  was  issued  from  somewhere,  'Open 
wide  the  gates,'  and  lo,  in  stepped  the  missionary.  The 
doors  had  remained  fast  closed  till  he  was  ready,  but 
now  the  hour  had  come.  The  greatest  armies  of  mod- 
ern times  have  marched  across  Korea.  Fleets  that 
would  eclipse  the  Armada  have  steamed  round  her 
shores.  The  greatest  naval  battle  that  the  world  ever 
saw  took  place  within  sound  of  her  coast-line.  God 
was  pushing  out  the  recently  discovered  hermit  to  catch 
the  attention  of  the  world.  Not  only  was  she  pushed 
before  the  world  by  newspaper  reporters,  war  corre- 
spondents, and  political  writers,  but  the  hidden  hand 


A  NATION  TRANSFORMED.  45 

linked  her  to  the  world's  newest  and  greatest  highway. 
Korea  is  evidently  being  used  as  a  pivot  point  for  the 
whole  hemisphere." 

Dr.  Gale  is  one  of  the  foremost  translators  of  the 
Bible  into  Korean.  This  language  possesses  an  alpha- 
bet, a  thing  unknown  in  Japanese  or  Chinese.  It  is 
one  of  the  simplest  alphabets  in  the  world.  Speaking 
of  the  wonderful  way  in  which  God  has  made  this 
alphabet  an  instrument  for  leading  the  Korean  people 
to  Christ  he  writes:  "Invented  in  1445  A.  D.  it  has 
come  quietly  down  the  dusty  ages,  waiting  for,  who 
knew  what?  It  was  looked  upon  with  contempt  as 
being  so  easy.  Even  women  could  learn  it  in  a  month 
or  little  more.  By  one  of  those  mysterious  Providences 
it  was  kept  waiting  for  the  New  Testament  and  other 
Christian  literature.  This  perhaps  is  the  most  remark- 
able Providence  of  all,  this  language  sleeping  its  long 
sleep  of  400  years,  waiting  till  the  hour  should  strike 
on  the  clock,  that  it  might  rise  and  tell  of  all  Christ's 
wonderful  works.  Tied  in  the  belts  of  the  women  are 
New  Testaments  in  common  Korean;  in  the  pack  of 
the  mountaineer  on  his  brisk  journeying;  in  the  wall- 
box  of  the  hamlet  home ;  piled  up  on  the  shelf  of  the 
living  room  are  those  Books  in  Un-mun  (the  native 
script),  telling  of  Ye  su  (Jesus)  mighty  to  save.  The 
writer  counts  it  among  his  choicest  privileges  that  he 
has  had  a  share  in  its  translation,  that  to  him  were 
assigned  John,  Acts,  Romans,  Galatians,  Ephesians  and 
Revelation." 

Dr.  Gale  is  not  by  any  means  simply  an  author- 
missionary.  He  is  pastor  of  a  church  of  over  a  thou- 
sand members  in  the  Korean  capital,  and  is  chairman 
of  the  Bible  Society's  Committee  for  the  publication 
and  distribution  of  God's  Word  throughout  the  land. 
One  day  while  returning  on  the  train  to  Seoul  from 
Taiku,  where  Dr.  Gale  had  been  teaching  in  a  large 
Bible  Training  Class,  he  gave  me  a  number  of  thrilling 
incidents  of  conversion  which  he  had  witnessed  during 
his  long  services  as  a  missionary.  He  began  with  the 
remarkable  narrative  of  the  conversion  of  the  former 
Chief  of  Pouce. 

"Kim  Chung  Sik,  the  Chief  of  Police  in  Seoul,  was 


46  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

a  Straightforward,  honest  man.  I  had  heard  of  him, 
and  longed  to  have  an  interview  with  him  to  see  if  I 
could  get  him  interested  in  the  Gospel.  One  day  a 
friend  unexpectedly  brought  him  to  see  me.  He  was 
a  tall,  handsome,  dignified  Korean,  beautifully  dressed. 
After  our  salutations  of  peace  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
ever  heard  the  story  of  the  Gospel.  He  said  he  had 
heard  of  it,  but  had  never  understood  it  fully.  I  told 
him  what  it  meant,  and  asked  him  if  he  could  not  read 
about  it  for  himself.  He  stated  that  he  would  do  so, 
and  accepted  a  New  Testament. 

"Two  or  three  weeks  later  he  brought  it  back  and 
laid  it  upon  the  table.  I  was  disappointed.  I  wanted 
him  to  keep  it.  But  he  did  not  seem  inclined  to  do  so. 
*How  did  you  like  it?'  I  asked.  He  replied,  'It  is  a 
good  book.'  'But  is  that  all?'  I  continued.  *I 
noticed  stories  in  it,'  said  he,  'like  our  old  Korean 
books,  such  as  walking  on  the  water,  and  other  wonder- 
ful things.  I  don't  accept  those,  but  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  good  teaching  in  the  book.'  'You  see  he  was 
quite  a  higher  critic,'  said  Dr.  Gale  with  a  smile. 

*'I  talked  with  him  for  some  time  about  the  Gospel, 
but  the  chief  withdrew  into  himself,  and  I  seemed  to 
make  no  impression.  When  he  left  I  remember  going 
into  my  room,  and  praying  for  him.  It  was  a  kind  of 
faithless  prayer,  I  fear,  for  I  felt  that  he  was  a  hope- 
less case.  I  also  felt,  however,  that  if  God  did  convert 
him  he  would  be  a  mighty  power  for  good.  As  Chief 
of  Police  and  a  Police  Magistrate  he  knew  how  to 
handle  men. 

"Later,  I  heard  that  he  had  been  thrown  into  prison 
as  a  political  suspect.  More  than  two  years  passed. 
Kim  was  almost  forgotten.  One  morning  a  wad  of 
paper  came  to  me  from  the  prison.  It  had  been  carried 
from  there  in  some  secret  manner.  It  was  from  my 
friend  Kim,  the  former  Chief  of  Police.  It  told  of  his 
struggle  for  deliverance — not  from  prison,  but  from 
sin  and  all  that  it  had  brought  upon  him.  In  the  cold 
and  discomfort  of  his  awful  prison  cell  he  had  read  the 
New  Testament  through  four  times,  with  the  result  that 
his  heart  was  hungering  beyond  expression  for  peace 
and  deliverance.     One  night  in  his  distress,  he  read  a 


A  NATION  TRANSIfORM^D.  47 

Chinese  translation  of  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  sermons. 
In  it  there  was  a  story  which  gave  him  just  what  he 
needed.  It  was  the  description  of  the  great  sacrifice 
made  by  one  who  was  drowning.  From  it  he  got  a 
vision  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  for  him.  It  affected 
him  deeply.  He  knelt  down  beside  his  prison  mat  and 
cried  like  a  little  child.  That  night  he  found  peace 
in  Christ. 

"In  that  crumpled  note  from  the  prison  the  former 
Chief  of  Police  said  that  all  the  words  I  had  spoken  to 
him  when  he  was  visiting  me  came  back  to  him  as  he 
lay  in  prison.  In  the  letter  he  also  requested  that  one 
of  the  lady  missionaries  might  call  upon  his  wife  and 
comfort  her  by  telling  her  the  story  of  Jesus.  A  short 
time  later  she  too  became  a  Christian. 

"It  was  not  long  before  Kim  was  released.  He 
afterwards  declared  that  it  was  God  Who  had  locked 
him  up  in  prison,  and  God  Who  had  released  him; 
for  in  those  days  it  was  as  likely  that  a  man  would  be 
executed  as  that  he  would  be  released.  A  friend  of 
Kim's  was  also  converted  in  prison.  He  was  called 
out  to  die  without  trial  by  jury  or  judge,  but  simply 
at  the  command  of  the  Prime  Minister. 

"After  Kim  was  released  from  prison  he  went  to 
call  on  the  Prime  Minister  who  had  ordered  his  im- 
prisonment. The  chief  official  knew  that  Kim  was  a 
main  trained  in  the  use  of  the  knife — a  short  Korean 
dagger.  As  Kim  entered  the  official  apartment  the 
Prime  Minister  shrank  away  from  him,  but  Kim  said, 
*Do  not  fear.  God  has  forgiven  my  sins,  and  I  have 
not  the  least  ill-feeling  towards  you.' 

"Kim  became  the  best  example  of  a  man  fishing 
for  men  that  I  have  ever  seen.  He  seemed  to  meditate 
on  all  sorts  of  schemes  for  getting  hold  of  men.  If  he 
thought  a  certain  man  could  be  reached  more  effectually 
by  some  one  else  he  would  send  another  person  instead 
of  going  himself.  One  day  he  said  to  me,  'Will  you 
be  at  home  to-morrow  ?  If  you  will  I  will  bring  around 
Prince  Ye.'  The  next  day  he  came  with  the  Prince, 
who  is  the  oldest  son  of  the  oldest  branch  of  the  Royal 
Family.  The  Prince  was  greatly  interested  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  carried  one  home  with  him.    To-day 


48  KOREJA  FOR  CHRIST. 

the  Prince  declares  that  he  believes  in  Christ  as  his 
personal  Saviour;  and  he  sometimes  goes  to  Church 
and  sits  amongst  the  poorest  people. 

"Soon  after  this  Kim  became  assistant  secretary  in 
Seoul  of  the  Korean  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  which  occupies  a  fine 
building  erected  by  Mr.  Wanamaker.  In  1907  he  was 
called  to  Tokio,  Japan,  to  become  director  of  the  re- 
ligious work  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  that  city;  and  his 
work  is  among  the  Korean  students  in  the  Japanese 
capital.  Kim  possesses  a  most  lovable  personality. 
He  attracts  men  by  his  winsome  manner.  He  is  to-day 
doing  a  splendid  work  for  his  Master  among  the  stu- 
dents in  Tokio.  I  often  think  of  the  prayer  of  little 
faith  offered  in  my  home  for  the  Chief  of  Police,  and 
of  the  marvelous  manner  in  which  God  answered  it. 
An  Athletic  Convert. 
"At  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Seoul  there  was  a  young  man 
who  carried  off  nearly  all  the  prizes  on  field  day.  He 
was  a  leader  of  men,  and  very  headstrong.  He  came 
under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel,  and  one  day  in  great 
distress  he  called  on  me.  Before  his  conversion  he  had 
fallen  into  sin,  and  had  stolen  money  and  other  things 
from  a  foreigner.  He  asked  what  he  should  do  about 
the  matter.  I  advised  him  to  make  out  a  list  as  care- 
fully as  he  could  of  everything  he  could  recall  having 
stolen.  I  told  him  that  even  if  it  meant  going  to  prison, 
he  should  make  full  confession  of  his  sins.  At  once  he 
went  to  see  the  foreigner  and  confessed  ail  to  him. 
The  foreigner  was  deeply  impressed,  for  the  Korean 
told  him  that  he  only  had  the  courage  to  confess  his  sin 
because  he  now  believed  in  Jesus. 

"The  thefts  having  all  been  cleared  up,  the  young 
man  became  a  happy,  earnest  Christian.  At  once  he 
began  to  pray  for  his  father,  a  man  that  I  had  been 
unable  to  reach.  Through  his  prayers  and  efforts  his 
father  and  mother,  his  wife  and  his  grandmother,  all 
became  Christians.  To-day  his  father  is  a  deacon  in 
my  church,  and  is  one  of  my  most  useful  members. 
He  is  the  kind  of  man  who  puts  down  in  his  book  the 
names  of  unconverted  people,  and  spends  nearly  the 
whole  night  in  prayer  for  them. 

"It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  young  athlete 


A  NATION  TRANSFORMED.  49 

was  one  of  the  first  converts  of  Kim,  the  Chief  of 
Police,  and  he  is  to-day  the  leader  of  a  special  effort  in 
Korea  along  the  line  of  personal  work. 

"The  Most  Unhappy  Man." 

"When  one  of  the  deacons  in  my  Church  made  a 
profession  of  faith  in  Christ,  he  found  at  first  no  relief 
and  no  joy.  Upon  one  occasion  the  whole  Church  was 
having  six  days  of  prayer;  spending  six  hours  of  the 
day  crying  to  God.  In  the  midst  of  one  of  these  periods 
of  prayer  this  deacon,  Pak,  arose  and  began  to  speak. 
With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  told  the  people  that  he  was  the 
most  unhappy  man  on  earth,  for  unconfessed  sin  was 
still  in  his  heart.  He  stated  that  some  years  before  he 
had  changed  a  note,  increasing  it  to  lOO  yen  ($50)  in 
his  favor.  He  had  collected  the  money,  and  no  one  else 
knew  of  it.  He  declared  that  the  money  was  just 
burning  into  his  soul,  and  that  day  and  night  he  could 
find  no  peace.  He  said  that  when  he  tried  to  pray  he 
could  see  the  money  before  him.  He  told  us  that  the 
man  he  had  defrauded  was  dead,  and  there  were  no 
relatives  to  whom  he  could  repay  the  money,  x^t  length 
he  concluded:  *I  have  brought  the  money  here,  and 
I  want  to  make  restitution  before  the  Church.  To-day 
he  is  one  of  the  best  deacons  in  our  Church.  This 
spring  he  goes  to  Pyeng  Yang  to  enter  the  Theological 
School. 

The  Converted  Devil- Worshippers. 

''While  living  in  Wonsan  we  were  once  holding  a 
week  of  Bible  Study  in  my  church.  I  was  giving  the 
people  a  series  of  addresses  on  the  second  coming  of 
Christ,  when  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  town 
came  into  the  service.  I  had  previously  visited  him, 
but  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Gospel.  He 
began  to  attend  the  Bible  Class  morning,  noon  and 
night. 

"At  last  the  report  went  abroad  that  he  was  going 
to  believe  and  become  a  Christian.  One  night  he  him- 
self arose  and  declared  that  he  had  decided  to  believe 
in  Christ.  We  all  bowed  in  prayer,  and  I  asked  the 
new  convert  to  pray.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  prayer 
he  offered.  After  much  stumbling  he  said:  'Lord,  I 
am  just  the  worst  man  that  ever  lived,  and  I  don't 


50  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

know  how  to  pray.  .  .  .  What  will  I  do  about  it  ?' 
With  the  perspiration  standing  on  his  face,  he  finally 
said  *Amen.'  Having  concluded  his  prayer,  he  arose 
and  said,  'I  have  another  statement  to  make.  My  wife 
and  I  have  been  the  worst  devil-worshippers  in  this 
town.  We  have  a  house  full  of  stuff  that  we  have 
offered  to  the  devil.  What  shall  I  do  about  it?' 
Somebody  shouted  to  him,  'Keep  quiet  about  that.'  He 
replied,  'I  will  not  keep  quiet.  I  intend  to  tell  the 
whole  thing.'  He  repeated  the  question,  'What  will  I 
do  about  it?  I  dort't  want  the  rubbish  in  my  house.' 
I  called  out  to  him.  'Give  it  to  me.  I  will  call  for  it 
to-morrow  morning  at  nine  o'clock.'  He  answered: 
'That's  good.     All  right ;'  and  the  meeting  continued. 

"That  night  I  pictured  him  and  his  wife  having  an 
Oriental  dispute  over  those  demon  offerings,  and  of  his 
weakening  and  changing  his  mind  about  giving  them 
away.  At  nine  o'clock  on  the  following  morning  I 
went  to  his  house.  I  found  the  room  actually  packed 
full  of  stuff  that  they  had  offered  to  the  demons.  His 
wife  was  also  a  Christian,  and  was  there  helping  him  to 
pile  all  this  material  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  In 
the  strange  collection  were  rolls  of  cotton,  grass  cloth, 
money,  rice,  and  many  other  things.  They  piled  the 
goods  high  on  the  back  of  a  coolie,  and  I  distributed 
them  amongst  the  poor.  Ever  since  the  man  has  been 
a  good  Christian,  and  became  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  Church." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Bible  in  Korea. 

A  Talk  with  Mr.  Hugh  Miller. 

From  the  commencement  of  Mission  work  in  Korea 
the  printed  page  of  God's  Word  has  occupied  a  pecu- 
liarly prominent  place.  The  Korean  Christian  is  a 
man  of  one  Book,  and  that  Book  the  Bible.  The  secret 
of  the  strength  of  the  Korean  Church  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  has  been  nourished  on  the  Word  of  God. 

The  Korean  Christians  read  the  Book  of  Books  day 
and  night,  and  they  are  among  the  greatest  Bible  stu- 
dents in  the  world.  They  love  the  Book  so  much  that 
most  of  them  wrap  up  their  New  Testament,  or  put  it 
in  a  bag,  and  carry  it  with  them  wherever  they  go. 
The  women  and  girls  usually  tie  their  Testament  and 
hymn  book  round  their  waist.  Men,  women  and  chil- 
dren commit  large  portions  of  the  Bible  to  memory. 
Last  year  two  little  girls  in  Pyeng  learned  and  recited 
the  entire  New  Testament  with  the  exception  of  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  while  a  number  of  others 
learned  from  400  to  4000  verses. 

When  the  watchword  "A  Million  Souls  for  Christ" 
was  adopted  by  the  General  Council  in  Seoul,  the  neces- 
sity for  quickly  placing  God's  Word  in  the  homes  and 
hearts  of  the  people  was  keenly  felt.  The  colporteur 
method  seemed  inadequate  to  meet  the  demand  of  the 
hour.  The  Bible  Society  Committee  met,  and  decided 
to  issue  a  special  pocket  edition  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel 
at  one-half  the  usual  price,  or  one  sen  per  copy.  It 
was  recommended  that  this  edition  be  sold  to  the 
Christians  at  cost ;  so  that  they  could  make  the  Gospels 
an  efficient  agency  in  leading  their  heathen  friends  and 
neighbors  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Truth.  The  Korean 
Christian  was  not  urged  to  make  a  wholesale  distribu- 
tion, but  to  give  the  Gospels  to  personal  friends  with  a 
loving,  tender  appeal  to  accept  Christ;  and  then  to 
follow  up  the  gift  with  prayer  and  personal  work  day 
by  day  until  the  victory  was  won. 


52  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

The  Korean  Church  took  up  this  new  method  of 
giving  God's  Word  to  the  heathen  with  the  greatest 
enthusiasm.  The  Bible  Society  printed  a  first  edition 
of  300,000  copies  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark.  In  a  few 
weeks  they  were  all  sold,  while  the  demand  seemed 
undiminished.  A  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  hundred 
thousand  were  ordered.  But  the  demand  increased 
more  rapidly  than  the  supply.  At  length  the  Bible 
Society  had  to  telegraph  for  ico,ooo  of  the  St.  Mark's 
Gospels,  to  be  forwarded  by  train  instead  of  by  steamer 
from  Yokohama  to  Seoul  to  meet  the  orders  which 
were  pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

In  five  months  the  Korean  Christians,  out  of  their 
poverty,  purchased  half  a  million  copies  of  these 
Gospels  to  use  in  their  soul-saving  crusade. 

The  work  of  printing  and  distributing  God's  Word 
in  Korea  is  under  the  direction  of  the  British  and 
Foreign,  and  the  American,  Bible  Societies.  The  agent 
of  the  American  Bible  Society  is  Rev.  D.  A.  Bunker, 
who  carries  on  extensive  evangelistic  work  in  addition 
to  his  duties  in  connection  with  the  Bible  Society. 
Although  most  of  the  missionaries  in  Korea  are 
Americans,  yet  it  is  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  which  has  been  longest  in  the  field,  and  which 
has  carried  on  the  major  part  of  the  work.  The  agent 
of  this  society  is  Mr.  Hugh  Miller,  under  whose 
efficient  administration  the  Bible  work  in  Korea  has 
made  marvelous  strides  during  the  past  few  years.  The 
work  has  increased  to  such  proportions  that  Rev.  F.  G. 
Vesey  has  recently  been  appointed  sub-agent  in  Korea. 

Speaking  of  the  part  the  Bible  has  played  in  the 
progress  of  Mission  work  in  Korea,  Mr.  Miller  said : 
f  "As  far  as  we  know  Bibles  were  first  brought  to 
Korea  in  1865  under  the  direction  of  the  National  Bible 
Society  of  Scotland  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas.  He 
came  from  Cheefoo  in  a  Korean  junk.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  he  came  over  in  the  ill-fated  'Sherman,'  The 
ship  was  stranded  near  Pyeng  Yang,  and  both  he  and 
the  crew  were  killed  by  the  Koreans. 

"In  1875  Dr.  John  Ross  and  Rev.  John  Mclntyre, 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  who 
were  working  in  Manchuria,  came  into  contact  with 


THE  BIBLE  IN  KOREA.  53 

Koreans  who  had  gone  across  the  border  for  business 
purposes.  These  missionaries  learned  that  Koreans 
could  read  and  understand  the  Chinese  translation  of 
the  Scriptures.  A  scholarly  Korean  was  engaged  to 
make  a  translation  from  the  Chinese  into  the  Unmun, 
the  vernacular  language  of  Korea,  under  the  direction 
of  Dr.  Ross  and  Mr.  Mclntyre. 

"In  1882  an  edition  of  the  Gospels  of  St.  Luke  and 
St.  John  were  published,  but  it  was  difficult  to  circulate 
them  in  Korea.  Books  of  a  foreign  religion  were  not 
allowed  to  come  into  the  Hermit  Kingdom,  and  now 
that  the  books  were  printed  the  problem  was  how  to  get 
them  into  the  country.  Korean  merchants  went  to 
Mukden  periodically  to  buy  the  old  official  papers 
which  were  offered  for  sale,  and  brought  into  Korea  on 
the  backs  of  coolies.  The  suggestion  came  to  Dr.  Ross 
and  Mr.  Mclntyre  that  if  the  Scriptures  were  made 
up  into  bundles,  unbound,  they  might  be  carried  into 
the  country  without  detection.  It  was  in  this  manner 
that  God's  Word  in  Korean  was  first  introduced  into 
the  country. 

"In  a  short  time  there  was  a  small  company  of 
believers  among  the  merchants  of  Weiju,  the  largest 
city  on  the  northern  border  of  the  country.  Three  of 
these  men  were  employed  as  colporteurs,  to  sell  Scrip- 
tures and  to  preach  to  their  fellow-countrymen.  One 
of  them,  Saw  Sang  Yun,  had  the  honor  of  being  the 
first  Korean  colporteur.  In  1883  he  left  Mukden  with 
a  load  of  Scriptures,  with  instructions  to  reach  Seoul 
with  them  if  possible.  After  varied  experiences  he 
was  successful  in  reaching  the  capital  with  only  a  few 
copies  in  his  hand.  He  remained  here  until  after  the 
arrival  of  the  American  missionaries  in  1885. 

"At  this  time  efforts  to  introduce  God's  Word  into 
Korea  were  also  being  made  in  the  East.  In  1885 
Rev.  Henry  Loomis,  agent  of  the  American  Bible 
Society  in  Yokohama,  met  a  Korean  in  Japan,  and  had 
him  translate  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark  into  his  native 
tongue.  When  the  American  missionaries,  Dr.  H.  G. 
Underwood,  Dr.  H.  G.  Appenzeller,  and  Dr.  W.  B. 
Scranton,  passed  through  Japan  they  were  given  a 
few  copies  of  St,  Mark's  Gospel  in  Korean,  which  they 


54  KOREA  I^OR  CHRIST. 

had  in  their  hands  when  they  landed  at  Chemulpo. 
This  was  one  of  the  few  cases  in  the  history  of  Mis- 
sions where  the  missionaries  reached  the  country  in 
which  they  were  to  labor  carrying  with  them  God's 
"Word  in  the  language  of  the  people. 

"But  it  was  the  Ross  translation  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  work  in  Korea.     Between  1883  and 

1886  no  less  than  15,690  copies  of  this  translation  were 
circulated  in  Korea  through  the  colporteurs.  From 
the  beginning  the  work  of  Saw,  the  colporteur,  was 
very  successful.  Dr.  Ross  writes  that  the  first  con- 
gregation of  Korean  converts  were  almost  entirely 
those  led  to  Christ  by  Saw.  It  was  thus  the  circula- 
tion of  God's  Word,  which  introduced  Christianity  to 
the  Hermit  Kingdom;  and  it  is  recognized  that  the 
wonderful  progress  of  the  Gospel  in  Northern  Korea 
is  due  in  no  small  measure  to  the  seed-sowing  of  those 
early  days.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  to-day  in 
Weiju  there  is  a  strong  Church  of  1500  believers,  with 
no  missionary  resident  in  the  city. 

As  soon  as  the  American  missionaries  in  Seoul  had 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  language,  they  began  to 
direct  their  attention  to  Bible  translation  work.       In 

1887  a  Board  of  Translators  was  formed  which  by  1900 
produced  a  tentative  version  of  the  New  Testament. 
In  1906  an  authorized  version  was  completed  and  pub- 
lished. During  the  last  ten  years  the  circulation  of 
the  Scriptures  in  Korea  has  gone  forward  with  un- 
paralleled progress.  The  total  number  of  portions  and 
Testaments  issued  in  1900  amounted  to  44,000  copies ; 
in  1909  the  circulation  was  about  400,000.  In  19 10 
it  bids  fair  to  far  surpass  the  previous  records." 

It  has  only  been  during  the  year  1910  that  the 
translation  of  all  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  into 
the  Korean  language  has  been  completed.  In  the 
preparation  of  the  entire  Bible  for  the  Korean  Church 
a  great  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  to  a  number  of  men 
who  have  labored  unceasingly  in  its  production. 
Foremost  among  these  stands  Rev.  W.  D.  Reynolds, 
of  Chun  Ju,  who  has  for  some  time  devoted  himself 
exclusively  to  translation  work.  Other  missionaries 
who  have  rendered  invaluable  service  are  Dr.  Horace 


THE  bible;  in  KOREA.  55 

G.  Underwood,  Dr.  James  S.  Gale,  and  Rev.  Alexander 
A.  Pieters. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  Bible  Committee  of  Korea 
are  filled  with  stirring  incidents  of  the  influence  of 
God's  Word  in  transforming  the  lives  of  the  Koreans. 
Rev.  J.  F.  Preston,  of  Kwang-Ju,  in  Southern  Korea, 
tells  of  a  large  work  among  the  islands  in  the  south 
of  Korea,  which  began  with  the  gift  of  a  copy  of 
God's  Word : 

*'In  March,  1904,  a  young  patriot,  after  five  weary 
years  spent  in  prison,  was  banished  for  life  to  a  distant 
island  of  the  Empire.  Just  as  he  was  leaving  Seoul  a 
Christian  friend  presented  him  with  a  Bible  and  a 
hymn  book,  urging  him  to  accept  the  Saviour  Who 
alone  could  write  hope  over  his  dismal  future.  This 
young  exile  of  noble  family,  keen  intellect,  and  splendid 
western  education,  thought  over  his  friend's  words,  and 
began  to  read  his  Bible.  On  a  tour  of  the  island  one 
year  later,  I  found  him  as  earnest  and  intelligent  a 
believer  as  I  ever  met.  The  Holy  Spirit,  using  the 
Word  of  God,  had  been  his  only  teacher. 

"He  had  borne  faithful  witness  to  those  around  him 
of  the  treasure  which  he  had  found.  Together  we 
planned  progressive  work.  Seven  months  later,  I  re- 
visited the  Island,  and  baptized  him  in  the  presence  of 
a  group  which  he  had  gathered;  and  on  that  same 
occasion  seven  of  these  whom  he  had  taught  were  re- 
ceived as  Catechumens. 

"We  then  laid  still  larger  plans,  which  have  already 
resulted  in  the  opening  up  of  another  large  island, 
where  100  people  had  expressed  their  desire  to  *do  the 
Jesus  doctrine.'  And  it  all  started  in  the  simple  gift 
of  a  Bible !'' 

During  the  past  few  months  the  chief  feature  of 
Bible  work  in  Korea  has  been  the  dissemination  of 
God's  Word  through  the  movement  known  as  the 
Pocket  Testament  League.  This  was  introduced  into 
Korea  during  the  visit  of  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  and 
Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander  and  their  evangelistic  party, 
and  was  taken  up  with  great  enthusiasm  throughout 
the  land.  It  is  a  plan  for  linking  together  people 
throughout  the  world  to  read  a  portion  of  God's  Word 


56  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

daily ;  to  carry  it  about  with  one ;  and  to  give  it  to  the 
unsaved  to  win  them  to  Christ. 

The  movement  was  originated  in  Birmingham  a 
number  of  years  ago  by  Mrs.  Charles  M.  Alexander, 
wife  of  the  Gospel  singer,  and  has  spread  rapidly  in 
various  lands.  In  America  there  are  to-day  probably 
not  less  than  100,000  members,  and  in  Australia  more 
than  25,000.  The  movement  seems  to  arouse  as  keen 
enthusiasm  in  missionary  as  in  Christian  lands. 

Under  the  direction  of  Rev.  A.  E.  Cory  the  League 
is  being  extended  throughout  China.  The  Bible 
Societies  are  issuing  a  League  Testament  at  special 
rates,  and  have  adopted  in  toto  the  principle  of  urging 
Chinese  Christians  to  purchase  Gospels  to  give  to  their 
heathen  friends  as  a  method  of  personal  work.  In 
Japan  the  plan  is  arousing  equal  interest,  where  Rev. 
R.  F.  Gorbold  is  the  national  secretary  of  the  League. 

This  movement  for  reading,  carrying  and  distribut- 
ing God's  Word  has  swept  over  Korea  in  a  phenomenal 
manner.  During  the  visit  of  the  Chapman-Alexander 
party  to  Seoul,  Mr.  Hugh  Miller  became  national  secre- 
tary of  the  League.  Local  secretaries  were  appointed 
in  the  various  mission  stations;  and  100,000  member- 
ship cards  were  printed  and  distributed.  It  has  been 
for  years  almost  universally  the  custom  of  the  Korean 
Christians  to  carry  a  New  Testament  with  them,  and 
they  eagerly  linked  themselves  with  this  world-wide 
movement.* 

*  NOTE.— National  Secretaries  of  the  Pocket  Testa- 
ment League:  England:  Francis  C.  Brading,  15,  Strand, 
London,  W.  C;  America:  Dr.  Parley  E.  Zartmann,  With- 
trspcon  Building,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Australia:  A.  M.  S. 
Shum,  382  Swanston  street,  Melbourne,  Victoria;  Philip- 
pine Islands:  Rev.  Geo.  W.  Wright,  EHinwood  Theological 
Seminary,  Manila;  China:  Rev.  A.  E.  Cory,  Nanking; 
Japan:  Rev.  R.  F.  Gorbold,  Ichi  Jo  Dori.  Kioto;  Korea: 
Hugh  Miller,  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  Seoul. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Whang  the;  Bund  Sorcerer. 

The  Story  of  a  Remarkable  Pilgrimage. 

This  is  the  story  of  Whang  Pum  Oh,  once  a  blind 
sorcerer,  now  a  hero  of  the  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Whang  grew  up  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism.  One 
day  the  Hght  of  the  Gospel  shone  in  upon  him  and  his 
soul  was  transfigured.  From  an  indolent  Korean  sor- 
cerer he  became  a  flaming  evangel  of  the  good  news  of 
the  Gospel ;  and  the  wonderful  change  in  his  Hfe  typi- 
fies the  transformation  which  has  been  wrought  in  a 
hundred  thousand  Koreans  during  the  past  twenty-five 
years. 

In  spite  of  his  affliction  Whang  is  one  of  the  hap- 
piest Christians  in  Korea.  In  the  "Korean  Mission 
Field"  Miss  Anna  Rae  Mills  gives  the  following  pen 
picture  of  the  blind  man : 

"I  wish  you  could  see  him  smile!  In  repose,  his 
face  is  thoughtful,  wistful,  seeing  things,  not  things 
close  by — those  physical  eyes  see  nothing  in  this  physi- 
cal world — but  far  off,  things  in  another  world,  the 
world  where  life  is  true,  where  purpose  conquers 
poverty,  where  love  sees  through  blindness,  where  God 
is  the  light  men  see  by.  It  was  so  I  saw  him  first; 
dusty,  dirty,  tired,  at  the  end  of  a  200-mile  walk.  Thus 
he  came  to  our  back  door,  and  I  saw  on  his  tired, 
pock-marked  face  the  vision  of  the  other  world. 
Strange,  isn't  it,  to  find  a  deeper,  sweeter  happiness 
on  a  blind  Korean  face  than  I  ever  saw  on  a  human 
face  at  home  ?" 

When  I  read  this  description  of  Whang,  with  face 
glorified  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  determined  that  I  would 
not  leave  until  I  had  seen  this  man.  It  was,  however, 
at  the  close  of  my  stay  in  the  country  before  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  visiting  Taiku  and  coming  into  contact 


58  KOREA  FOR  CHRIST. 

with  the  former  blind  sorcerer.  Knowing  of  my  desire 
Rev.  H.  M.  Bruen,  the  leader  of  the  evangelistic  work 
at  Taiku  station,  had  sent  for  Whang  who  lived  in  a 
village  sixty  li  away.  Scarcely  had  the  message  been 
sent,  however,  when  Whang  appeared  in  Taiku  having 
walked  the  twenty  miles  in  order  to  attend  the  large 
Bible  Class  which  was  then  in  session.  Through  Mr. 
Bruen's  kindness  in  acting  as  interpreter,  I  had  a  long 
interview  with  Whang,  and  secured  from  him  the  story 
of  his  conversion  and  of  his  remarkable  pilgrimage  in 
quest  of  the  Truth. 

When  three  years  of  age  Whang  Pum  Oh  was  taken 
with  smallpox,  and  he  became  blind  as  a  result  of  the 
disease.  When  he  was  only  ten  years  of  age  both  his 
parents  were  seized  with  cholera,  and  died  within  a 
few  days  of  each  other.  Whang  went  to  live  with  his 
uncle,  who  had  the  blind  boy  taught  the  art  of  sorcery. 
In  Korea  it  is  customary  for  nearly  all  the  blind  people 
to  become  sorcerers.  The  art  is  very  prevalent  through- 
out the  land.  It  is  especially  in  demand  in  times  of 
sickness.  A  blind  sorcerer  is  consulted.  He  goes 
through  some  weird  incantations,  and  tells  the  people 
how  to  propitiate  the  evil  spirit  who  has  sent  the 
disease. 

The  sorcerer  also  professes  to  tell  people  how  to  find 
lost  articles ;  how  journeys  may  be  made  successfully ; 
how  a  new  house  should  be  built  to  avoid  the  evil 
spirits,  and  so  forth.  It  is  all  a  system  of  deception. 
Whang  made  money  in  this  profession,  and  purchased 
household  goods  and  fields. 

On  one  occasion  Mr.  Bruen's  Korean  helper  was 
preaching  in  a  guest  room  in  Whang's  village.  The 
sorcerer  went  to  hear  him,  and  was  deeply  impressed 
with  the  Gospel  story.  The  more  he  listened  to  the 
Korean  messenger  of  the  Gospel,  the  more  he  felt  the 
wickedness  of  his  sorcery.  He  argued  with  the  helper 
for  tv/o  days.  At  last  he  was  convinced  of  the  truth- 
fulness of  the  Gospel,  and  became  a  believer. 

Whang  began  to  attend  the  Church,  but  continued  to 
practice  his  art  of  divination,  for  it  was  a  very  lucrative 
profession.  Week  after  week,  however,  as  he  under- 
stood the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  more  fully,  he  began 


WHANG  TH^  BLIND  SORC^R^R.  59 

to  have  a  greater  distaste  for  his  work.  At  length  one 
day  when  requested  to  attend  a  certain  house,  he  re- 
fused, and  broke  all  his  instruments  before  the  eyes  of 
his  visitor. 

He  now  began  to  experience  a  great  longing  to  learn 
to  read  God's  Word.  On  account  of  his  blindness, 
however,  this  was  an  extremely  difficult  task.  Week 
after  week  he  groped  his  way  15  li  (five  miles)  along 
the  country  road  to  attend  a  church,  for  there  were  no 
Christians  in  his  village.  For  a  year  he  prayed  earn- 
estly that  the  Father  would  make  it  possible  for  him 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible. 

One  night  God  answered  his  prayer  in  an  unexpected 
manner.  The  thought  flashed  into  his  mind  that  he 
might  adapt  one  of  the  arithmetical  tables  used  by 
blind  sorcerers;  and  by  the  aid  of  this,  work  out  a 
system  of  his  own  that  would  enable  him  to  read.  His 
next  step  was  to  purchase  several  large  Standard  Oil 
tin  cans,  of  the  type  commonly  used  in  the  Orient. 
From  these  he  made  four  or  five  thousand  small  tin 
squares,  with  a  hole  through  each,  so  that  they  could 
be  threaded  on  a  string.  Then  he  made  indentations 
in  different  corners  of  these  squares,  to  indicate  the 
various  letters  of  the  Korean  Alphabet.  He  also  pro- 
cured two  thousand  pieces  of  wood  in  varying  shapes 
to  indicate  the  final  consonants. 

The  great  desire  of  Whang's  soul  was  not  only  to 
read,  but  to  memorize  God's  Word.  Having  created  a 
crude  system  of  reading,  he  began  to  master  the  Scrip- 
tures. His  plan  was  to  have  a  friend  read  out  St. 
John's  Gospel,  while  he  formed  sentence  after  sentence 
by  threading  his  tin  and  wooden  squares  on  a  string. 
Then  by  running  his  fingers  over  the  crude  type  he 
committed  verse  after  verse  of  God's  Word  to  memory. 
In  this  manner  he  learned  the  first  six  chapters  of 
John.  On  one  occasion  while  at  the  Church  a  new 
vision  dawned  upon  the  soul  of  Whang.  He  heard 
that  at  Pyeng  Yang,  about  1000  li  distant,  there  was 
a  school  for  teaching  the  blind  to  read  in  a  new  and 
wonderful  manner.  For  two  years  he  prayed  that 
God  would  open  the  way  for  him  to  go  to  that  school. 
^  At  length  Mr.  Bruen  heard  of  the  former  sorcerer's 


Go  KOREA  I^OR  CHRIST. 

heroic  efforts  to  master  God's  Word,  and  of  his  great 
desire  to  go  to  Pyeng  Yang,  and  sent  him  7  yen  to  buy 
a  railroad  ticket  to  the  Northern  city.  Whang  was  full 
of  joy  over  the  prospect  of  his  great  desire  being  real- 
ized. But,  knowing  that  his  wife  and  family  would 
suffer  if  he  left  them  unprovided  for,  Whang  revealed 
the  strength  of  his  Christian  character  by  using  the 
money  to  purchase  food  and  fuel  for  them.  The  blind 
enthusiast  then  set  out  to  grope  his  way  along  the  high- 
ways of  Korea  towards  the  goal  of  his  dreams,  300 
miles  distant. 

After  trudging  for  sixty  miles  Whang  reached  the 
Mission  station  at  Chong-Ju.  Here  he  was  met  by 
Mr.  Kagin,  a  friend  of  Mr.  Bruen's,  who  asked  him 
why  he  was  walking.  Having  heard  the  blind  man's 
story,  this  friend  of  the  missionary's  also  gave  him  a 
sum  of  money,  with  specific  instructions  that  it  should 
be  used  in  no  other  way  than  for  railway  fare.  But 
Whang  continued  his  journey  on  foot  until  he  reached 
Seoul,  the  capital  city ;  and  from  here  he  sent  much  of 
the  money  back  to  his  wife  and  children.  He  would 
again  have  continued  the  journey  on  foot,  but  a  Korean 
friend  took  him  in  charge,  purchased  his  railway  ticket, 
and  placed  him  on  the  train  for  Pyeng  Yang. 

Upon  reaching  his  destination  Whang  made  his  way 
to  the  school  for  the  blind  conducted  by  Mrs.  Samuel 
A.  Moffett,  and  was  at  once  admitted.  He  made  mar- 
velous progress.  In  a  month's  time  he  had  learned 
to  read  by  the  Braille  system.  Then  he  was  eager  to 
leave  to  tell  other  blind  men  about  the  Saviour.  Dr. 
Moffett  gave  Whang  a  sum  of  money  to  enable  him  to 
ride  home  in  ease  and  comfort,  but  for  the  third  time 
the  blind  man  sent  the  money  to  his  wife  and  children, 
and  started  out  to  walk  the  entire  300  miles  to  his  own 
village  in  Southern  Korea.  When  he  was  nearing  the 
capital,  a  strange  thing  happened.  He  met  his  brother, 
who  had  been  a  wanderer  for  four  years,  and  after 
instructing  him  for  a  week  had  the  joy  of  leading  hinj 
to  Christ.  At  length  Whang  reached  his  village  10 
safety,  having  in  all  groped  his  way  about  500  miles 
along  the  Korean  highways  in  order  to  learn  to  read 
the  blind  man's  Bible. 


WHANG  TH^  BI.IND  SORCI^RKR.  6l 

Whang  has  now  been  a  Christian  for  about  five 
years.  The  supreme  desire  of  his  life  is  to  open  a 
school  for  the  blind  in  order  to  teach  the  Gospel  to  his 
companions  in  misfortune.  He  has  now  committed 
to  memory  the  first  ten  chapters  of  St.  John's  Gospel. 
He  reviews  two  or  three  chapters  daily.  He  thinks 
that  in  three  years  he  will  be  able  to  memorize  the 
entire  New  Testament.  He  is  too  poor  to  purchase  a 
blind  man's  Bible,  but  is  endeavoring  to  make  one  him- 
self. When  I  left  Korea  Whang  was  about  to  start 
for  Pyeng  Yang  to  spend  another  month  studying 
God's  Word,  and  making  copies  by  the  Braille  system 
of  two  or  three  Books  in  the  New  Testament.  Will 
not  the  reader  pray  that  the  way  may  be  opened  for 
this  blind  hero  of  the  Cross  to  realize  the  desire  of 
his  heart  in  establishing  a  School  for  the  Blind  in 
Southern  Korea? 


CHAPTER  X. 
TuK  Re^vival  and  A:ftkr. 

For  four  years,  1903- 1907,  the  Korean  Church  passed 
through  one  of  the  most  remarkable  manifestations 
of  God's  power  in  the  entire  history  of  the  Christian 
Church.  From  north  to  south,  from  east  to  west, 
the  revival  swept  over  the  country.  It  cleansed  and 
purified  the  church,  which  in  the  lusty  vigor  of  youth, 
had  not  fully  realized  the  awfulness  of  sin.  It  fired 
the  Church  with  a  new  passion  for  seeking  the  lost; 
and  it  prepared  the  way  for  the  "million"  movement. 

The  revival  began  at  Wonsan,  on  the  east  coast  of 
Korea,  in  connection  with  the  work  of  Dr.  R.  A. 
Hardie,  one  of  the  most  consecrated  and  honored  mis- 
sionaries in  Korea.  Dr.  Hardie  is  now  at  the  head 
of  the  Methodist  Theological  Seminary  at  Songdo. 
From  the  beginning  to  the  end  the  awakening  was 
marked  by  public  confession  of  sins  which  no  earthly 
power  could  have  extorted  from  an  Oriental.  Some- 
times there  was  a  terrible  struggle  for  days  between 
the  powers  of  light  and  darkness;  then  when  Christ 
gained  the  victory  and  confession  was  made,  there 
followed  an  ecstasy  of  peace  and  joy. 

During  a  railway  journey  through  Korea,  Rev.  J.  L. 
Gerdine,  one  of  the  leaders  of  Southern  Methodist 
Church  told  how  the  work  of  grace  began:  "A  small 
Bible  Class  of  seven  missionaries  was  being  held  during 
the  last  week  of  August,  1903.  The  senior  missionary 
of  the  group.  Dr.  R.  A.  Hardie,  was  requested  to 
prepare  three  papers  on  prayer.  As  he  made  prepara- 
tion he  became  deeply  concerned  over  his  own  life. 
He  realized  a  lack  of  power  in  pleading  for  others. 
As  he  studied  God's  Word  he  definitely  claimed  the 
infilling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  according  to  the  promise 
in  Luke  11,  13.  He  declared  that  he  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  faith,  apart  from  feeling,  save  a  new  peace 
in  his  heart  which  he  had  not  possessed  before. 


Pyeng  Yang  the  largest  City  of  Northern  Korea. 
Men  and  boys  who  walked  one  hundred  miles  to  attend  a  Bible  Class. 


THS  R^IVAL  AND  A^E^R.  63 

**On  the  following  Sunday,  Dr.  Hardie  told  the 
Korean  Church  in  Wonsan  about  the  experiences 
through  which  he  had  passed,  and  testified  to  having 
received  the  infilling  of  the  Spirit.  He  made  confes- 
sion that  he  had  been  lacking  in  power  and  in  love. 
He  said  he  had  preached  the  truth,  but  in  such  a  way 
as  to  offend  rather  than  to  attract,  and  it  was  because 
he  himself  had  been  lacking  in  love.  This  made  a 
profound  impression  upon  the  congregation  which 
depened  in  subsequent  regular  services." 

It  was  less  than  a  month  later  during  some  special 
prayer  meetings  conducted  by  Dr.  Hardie,  that  the 
revival  began.  The  Koreans  began  to  show  evi- 
dences of  deep  conviction  of  sin.  Then  suddenly  with- 
out anyone  suggesting  it,  they  began  to  stand  and  make 
public  confession.  For  the  next  tv/o  weeks,  God's 
Spirit  was  manifested  in  such  power  that  the  Church 
in  Wonsan  was  transformed.  Mr.  Gerdine  told  me 
that  the  work  was  so  deep  and  thorough  that  some  of 
the  converts  are  now  among  the  strongest  men  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  one  of 
them  being  pastor  of  their  leading  church  in  Seoul. 

Six  months  later  in  Wonsan  at  the  annual  Bible 
Training  Class  conducted  by  Dr.  Hardie,  the  revival 
broke  out  afresh.  Following  this,  Dr.  Hardie  was 
called  to  various  cities  in  Korea  to  conduct  similar 
meetings,  and  at  each  God's  Spirit  was  present  in  great 
power.  Gradually  the  flame  spread  throughout  the 
country  and  the  awakening  became  a  national  move- 
ment which  changed  the  character  of  the  Korean 
Church.  It  was  in  Central  Church,  Pyeng  Yang,  that 
the  Revival  reached  its  climax.  Here  scenes  of  con- 
trition and  confession  were  witnessed  which  thrilled 
the  Christian  world.  The  Pyeng  Yang  awakening  was 
unmistakably  in  answer  to  prayer.  For  months  previous 
the  missionaries  at  this  station  had  held  daily  prayer 
meetings  pleading  for  a  mighty  outpouring  of  God's 
Spirit.  Rev.  W.  L.  Swallen  has  told  how  wave  after 
wave  of  blessing  swept  over  the  city : 

"There  has  been  a  series  of  manifestations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  power  coming  to  us  here  at  Pyeng  Yang 
as  successive  companies  of  Christians  have  gathered 


64  KOREA   FOR  CHRIST. 

here  for  special  study.  At  each  new  gathering  a  special 
manifestation  of  His  Presence  has  been  expected, 
prayed  for,  and  received.  We  have  not  dictated  as 
to  the  manner  of  His  appearance,  but  during  all  this 
time  there  has  been  much  united  as  well  as  indi- 
vidual prayer  that  He  would  come  to  behevers  in 
mighty  power,  transforming  their  lives  and  character. 
They  not  only  prayed  but  worked  for  the  lost.  The 
entire  city  was  mapped  out,  and  each  church  made 
responsible  for  its  prescribed  territory.  The  power  of 
this  blessing  upon  the  whole  church  was  made  manifest 
in  the  fruit  it  bore  during  this  campaign.  Some  two 
thousand  persons  have  been  led  to  accept  Christ  as  their 
Saviour.  The  churches  are  all  filled  and  overflowing. 
Central  Church  for  lack  of  room  has  had  again  to  send 
off  two  more  congregations :  and  even  now  in  order  to 
relieve  the  congestion  the  men  and  women  are  com- 
pelled to  meet  for  worship  at  separate  hours  of  the 
day." 

The  fire  fell  also  at  a  Bible  Conference  in  Pyeng 
Yang  where  550  country  women  had  assembled  to 
study  God's  Word.  Mr.  Swallen  tells  of  the  beautiful 
scenes  which  occurred  during  this  Conference.  ''Their 
experiences  were  the  same  as  those  manifested  in  the 
meetings  of  the  city  women.  They  would  weep  and 
wail  and  beat  their  breasts,  and  sometimes  they  would 
sink  down  upon  the  floor  under  such  a  weight  of  sin 
as  to  be  wholly  unable  to  articulate  distinctly.  At 
times  the  whole  congregation  would  wail  together  and 
cry  out  to  God  for  mercy.  When  anyone  would  be- 
come so  overcome  with  grief  as  to  be  unable  to  cease, 
the  whole  congregation  would  break  out  together  in 
audible  prayer  after  which  a  song  might  be  sung.  If 
still  there  were  those  who  could  not  get  comfort,  and 
not  un frequently  there  were  many  such,  then  those 
sainted  women  who  had  previously  gone  through  with 
such  an  experience  themselves  and  had  gotten  peace, 
would  go  through  the  congregation  like  angelic  mes- 
sengers, seeking  out  such  and  putting  their  arms  about 
them  in  unmistakable  love,  and  speak  peace  to  their 
agonizing  souls.  This  never  failed  to  bring  speedy 
relief.     With   few   exceptions   these   women   went  to 


the:  REVIVAI,   AND  AFT^R.  b5 

their  homes,  rid  of  a  great  load  of  sin.  They  went 
with  their  hearts  filled  with  a  new  joy,  and  a  new 
power." 

Rev.  Graham  Lee  gives  this  vivid  picture  of  one  of 
the  scenes  at  a  meeting  for  men :  "After  a  short  ad- 
dress all  who  wished  to  go  home  were  dismissed.  As 
soon  as  the  audience  was  quiet  we  had  audible  prayer 
together  and  immediately  afterwards  a  number  of  men 
jumped  to  their  feet  signifying  an  intense  desire  to 
confess  their  sins.  After  a  few  confessions  the  climax 
came  when  Elder  Chu  got  the  strength  to  make  his 
confession.  All  through  that  wonderful  Tuesday 
evening  he  sat  and  looked  Hke  a  man  who  has  received 
his  death  sentence.  We  felt  sure  he  had  some  terrible 
sin  to  confess  and  we  prayed  that  God  would  give 
him  strength.  He  had  been  sitting  on  the  platform  and 
suddenly  I  found  him  sitting  beside  me,  and  then  my 
heart  gave  a  bound  of  joy,  for  I  knew  he  had  surren- 
dered and  that  God's  Spirit  was  now  able  to  cleanse 
him.  He  began  in  a  broken  voice  and  could  hardly 
articulate,  so  moved  was  he.  As  he  went  on  his  words 
grew  clearer,  and  then  it  all  came  out.  He  confessed 
to  adultery,  and  the  misuse  of  funds,  and  as  he  told 
of  it  he  was  in  the  most  fearful  agony  I  have  ever  seen 
expressed  by  any  mortal  being.  He  was  trembling 
from  head  to  foot  and  I  was  afraid  he  would  fall,  so 
I  put  my  arm  about  him  to  hold  him  up.  In  fearful 
distress  of  mind  he  cried  out,  'Was  there  ever  such 
a  terrible  sinner  as  I  am?'  and  then  he  beat  the  pulpit 
with  his  hands  with  all  his  strength.  At  last  he  sank 
to  the  floor  and  writhed  and  writhed  in  agony,  crying 
for  forgiveness.  He  looked  as  though  he  would  die 
if  he  did  not  get  relief.  It  was  terrible  to  witness,  but  oh, 
it  was  so  beautiful  to  see  the  Korean  brethren  gather 
about  him  in  his  time  of  anguish.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Chu 
broke  down  the  whole  audience  broke  out  in  weeping 
and  they  wept  and  wailed  and  it  seemed  as  if  they 
couldn't  stop.  I  had  to  begin  a  song  to  quiet  them. 
We  held  the  meeting  a  little  longer  and  then  dismissed 
the  audience  thankful  that  God's  Spirit  was  still  mani- 
fest among  us  and  more  thankful  that  Elder  Chu  had 
obtained  the  strength  to  make  his  confession." 


66  KORi^A   I^OR  CHRIST. 

Since  the  revival  the  soul-winning  fervour  of  the 
Korean  church  has  been  an  inspiration  to  all  Christen- 
dom. The  missionary  body,  as  well  as  the  native 
church,  is  on  fire  with  a  passion  for  seeking  the  lost. 
Even  the  children  of  the  missionaries  at  Pyeng  Yang 
and  at  other  stations,  engage  in  personal  work  with  a 
naturalness  and  an  enthusiasm  which  is  seldom  seen 
in  home  lands. 

Perhaps  no  missionary  in  Korea  better  typifies  the 
astonishing  zeal  for  soul-saving  which  cliaracterizes 
both  the  foreign  leaders  and  the  native  Christians  than 
Dr.  W.  H.  Forsythe,  of  Mokpo.  He  is  a  medical  mis- 
sionary, but  he  is  possessed  with  a  holy  zeal  for  win- 
ning individuals  to  Christ  such  as  has  been  rarely 
equalled  in  any  land.  One  day  as  I  walked  along  the 
street  with  him  for  a  short  distance  he  spoke  to  no  less 
than  fifty  Koreans.  His  manner  was  so  kindly,  and  his 
appeal  so  loving  that  the  faces  of  the  people  lit  up  with 
pleasure  as  he  said  a  few  words  to  each  about  the 
Saviour. 

Dr.  Forsythe  was  formerly  stationed  at  Chunju. 
When  he  was  called  to  Mokpo,  the  Koreans  at  Chunju 
were  so  eager  to  retain  him  that  they  filled  a  great  book 
with  nearly  looo  petitions,  signed  by  heathen  and 
Christians  alike.  The  women  took  pieces  of  dress 
cloth  and  wrote  their  names  with  an  appeal.  When 
this  method  did  not  avail,  the  Koreans  declared  the 
missionary  must  not  leave :  they  would  stop  the  coolies 
carrying  his  goods.  And  this  actually  occurred,  but 
finally  he  was  allowed  to  go  to  his  new  field. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  spend  three  days  with  this 
strenuous  medical  missionary  at  Mokpo.  It  seems  to 
me  I  never  had  known  what  a  passion  for  souls  really 
meant  until  I  saw  Dr.  Forsythe  at  work.  At  all  hours 
of  the  day,  and  often  of  the  night,  in  the  homes,  on  the 
streets,  in  the  chumacks  (Inns),  on  the  fishing  boats 
and  steamers,  everywhere,  he  pleads  with  people  to 
accept  Christ.  He  is  constantly  giving  away  tracts 
and  Gospels,  many  of  which  are  carried  to  distant 
villages  and  to  heathen  islands,  and  thus  the  good  news 
of  the  Gospel  is  scattered  broadcast. 

More  than  once  I  saw  Dr.  Forsythe  stop  a  group  of 


THIS  RlSVIVAL   AND  AFTHR.  67 

travelers  on  the  highway,  preach  Christ  to  them  for  a 
few  moments,  give  each  a  Gospel,  and  then  get  all  on 
their  knees  while  he  offered  a  prayer  for  their  salva- 
tion. Again  and  again  this  tireless  soul-winner  goes 
to  the  Inns  where  30  or  40  Koreans  are  asleep  on  the 
floor,  rouses  them  up,  tells  them  how  to  be  saved,  has 
prayer,  leaves  Gospels,  and  is  gone.  It  is  a  delicate 
task,  but  so  winsome  is  the  Doctor's  way  that  the  men 
lie  down  with  a  smile  instead  of  a  scowl.  **It  is  the 
only  way  to  reach  some  of  them  with  the  Gospel 
story,"  is  the  missionary's  brief  comment. 

Another  of  Dr.  Forsythe's  methods  is  to  stand  out- 
side a  church  and  to  fill  it  with  the  heathen  passing 
along  the  street.  In  Seoul  one  Sunday  evening  he 
practically  filled  a  Church  in  this  manner.  The 
Korean  Christians  were  greatly  ashamed  that  a 
stranger  should  come  and  fill  up  their  church  for  them. 
Later  they  adopted  this  method,  and  before  I  left 
Korea  they  held  a  week's  mission  and  enrolled  243 
new  believers. 

Like  the  other  missionaries,  Dr.  Forsythe  is  con- 
stantly working  and  praying,  not  only  for  his  own 
district,  but  for  the  whole  of  Korea.  One  of  the  great 
ambitions  of  his  life  is  that  a  portion  at  least  of  God's 
Word  may  speedily  be  put  into  every  home  and  every 
heart  in  Korea.  He  is  the  chairman  of  a  Committee 
for  promoting  the  Bible  Success  Band  throughout  the 
country.* 

This  is  a  plan  for  committing  a  verse  of  Scripture 
to  memory  daily.  It  was  started  by  Mrs.  E.  A.  R. 
Davis,  and  has  been  taken  up  enthusiastically,  not  only 
in  Korea,  but  in  Japan,  China  and  other  lands. 

"Time  would  fail  to  tell"  of  the  marvelous  scenes 
of  grace  in  Korea;  of  demons  cast  out  in  answer  to 
prayer;  of  the  blind  girl  once  a  sorceress,  who  walked 
with  her  parents  200  miles  to  study  God's  Word;  of 
the  poor  man  who  saved  five  slices  of  bread  and  lived 
on  one  a  day,  while  he  attended  a  Bible  Class;  of  the 

*  Information  concerning  this  movement  may  be  se- 
cured from  the  Scripture  Gift  Mission,  15,  Strand,  London, 
or  from  Mrs.  E.  A.  R.  Davis.  158  Fifth  avenue,  New  York, 
U.  S.  A 


68  KOREA   FOR  CHRIST. 

man  who  cut  Korean  characters  on  a  slab  of  hard 
wood,  and  printed  tracts  to  tell  the  heathen  the  way 
of  life;  of  the  six  students  who  spent  their  ten  days' 
vacation  preaching  Christ  in  the  Korean  villages  and 
enlisted  i8o  new  believers;  of  the  1500  men  at  a  Bible 
Class,  who  purchased  33,000  Gospels  to  give  to  their 
heathen  friends  to  lead  them  into  the  Hght;  of  Korean 
women  who  sell  their  silver  ornaments,  and  even  their 
wedding  rings,  to  give  the  Gospel  to  those  in  darkness. 

To  God  be  all  the  glory !  "This  is  the  Lord's  doing ; 
it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes."  It  is  only  through  His 
Almighty  power  that  Korea,  the  Hermit-land,  shrouded 
in  darkness  for  thirty  centuries,  is  at  last  in  the  fullness 
of  time  becoming  a  beacon  light  for  the  nations.  With 
the  blessing  of  God,  within  a  few  years,  Korea  will 
become  one  of  the  strong  Christian  lands  of  the  world. 

Korea  for  Christ !  The  crucial  victory  in  the  conquest 
of  the  Orient!  Will  you  help?  Pray,  pray,  pray! 
Pray  for  the  Missionaries!  Pray  for  the  Korean 
Christians!  Pray  for  the  Million  Souls  for  Christ! 
And  thus  hasten  the  sounding  of  the  "voices  in 
Heaven,  saying  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  Christ,  and  He 
shall  reign  forever  and  ever."     (Rev.  xi,  15.) 


\        ■  vm^iii-^i 


TE    DUE 


PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 


GAYLORD 


BW8460.D26 
Korea  for  Christ 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00035  0027 


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